Electric Current
by CosmopolitanPrincess
Summary: Post-Eclipse. A girl with a troubling past comes to start over in a new place. She's thurst into a world she didn't know existed and now that she's found love and friendship, never wants to leave. Jacob/OC centric with most other characters appearing.
1. Prologue Part I

Prologue

_Ally P.O.V. _

I guess this is what death feels like. I'd never really given that much thought to it. I mean, I hadn't purposely ignored it but it had never really come up before. Bad stuff has happened, Lord knows I have had my share, but I am a fighter. Never say die. Yet, here I was, lying here on a soft bed, awaiting death. And for once in a long time, I was happy with the choices that had led me here. I had done everything I wanted to do in life.

I had loved another with all of my heart, all of my soul and all of my everything. All I could see at this moment was his face in my head. My eyes were swollen so shut that I couldn't see but if he was here I would force them open, just to see his beautiful face one more time.

The heart is a double edged sword sometimes. I was glad he wasn't here. I never wanted him to see me like this and I never would want him to be hurt because of my choices. My smart yet ridiculously dumb choices. But, I needed him here so badly. I wanted him to hug me and kiss me and tell me everything would be okay, even though it was a lie. I wasn't going to be okay. I was going to die here and I knew it. But, the point was that those closest to me were not going to meet their ends here. The monster hadn't wanted them. He had wanted me and I knew it. I did my best to push his face as far away from my mind as possible. As much as I wanted to think about him, it brought me the worst type of despair, knowing I'd never see him, never touch him, never smell him or hear him again.

Even though my death was imminent, I couldn't regret the decisions that had brought me to this moment. They had also brought me to him. Sure, I had been in the hospital more times this year than ever before. But that didn't matter. I had met him and my entire life changed.

Actually to be fair, my life had always been changing. It never stayed the same. It was like a ripple in a body of water. Constantly moving and constantly changing those around me, for better and worse. Since I was going to die soon anyway, I allowed my thoughts to naturally drift back to where I was most comfortable. With my…my….I gulped and felt that pain again as I thought about his name.

I hear the monster walk towards me and stop close to my body. I guess he wasn't going to kill me. He was going to have his way with me….again. As I felt my small body become the monster's playground and my clothing taken off roughly and angrily, I thought back to him. My mind always drifted back to him. Like two magnets. Staying apart was not an option. Even when we were apart, we were one. I could feel him.

The pain of the monsters violation ripped through me again, but I couldn't make a sound. Think of something else, Ally, dear God, think of something else. I forced myself to relive my memories, my life, and maybe, just maybe, the monster would be merciful this time.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

My life restarted when I moved to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with my father. My mother and step father hadn't been the best environment for myself and my siblings, twin eleven year olds, Marissa and Carson. And by, hadn't been the best environment, it wouldn't be an understatement to say it was probably the worst. So with the money my father had sent me every year since he left, we left Sacramento in the middle of the night and didn't stop until we reached Washington. To say my mother was upset was an understatement. When we arrived at my father's house, without him in it, of course (he worked a lot), a message from my mother and step father was waiting on the answering machine.

"Allyson Savannah Chase! How dare you run off with Marissa and Carson in tow! They are only eleven! They would have followed you anywhere! You better be sending them right back on a plane to California. Mike is furious! Do you know what he'll do to you if you don't send them back? You are almost 18, leave! See if we fucking care! Josh left without a word too, ungrateful children! But, you will not teach my younger children to follow in you and Josh's fucking retarded footsteps. Send them home! Now!"

I turned to the sad faces of my eleven year old siblings. I mean, this whole escape plan was never their idea. Mom was right about one thing, they would follow me anywhere. But, my unplanned scheme was going to get them hurt if I sent them back.

"Are you sending us back to Mom and Mike, Ally?" Carson asked quietly. My heart literally broke in a million pieces. He knew, just as well as I did what would happen if I sent them back.

"Of course not, Carson. I'm not sending either of you back. I'll deal with this and get it straightened out with Dad. Then we'll figure out Mom and Mike. Why don't you two go up to your rooms and put your stuff away. I'm going to see where Daddy is." The four of us, including my older brother Josh, had stayed here for about a week a year since our parents divorce eight years ago so we all had rooms and possessions, which did make it easier for us to leave Sacramento so quickly. Our Dad worked so often that he tended to buy our love. We had lavish things at this house. I had my own car; we all had rooms, clothes, furniture, televisions… everything. It was Dad's replacement for the fact that even though the four of us stayed here for a week a year, Dad was probably home for a day of that.

"Thank you for calling Chrysler Automobiles Corporate Office located in Port Angeles, this is Quinn; how may I direct your call?"

"Hi, I'd like to speak with Cayden Chase, the Vice-President of Sales, Northwest division."

"I'm sorry," Quinn said in a sickly sweet voice. "He's actually in a meeting right now. Let me transfer you to his voicemail…"

"No! Wait! Pull him out of the meeting. This is Allyson, his daughter. It's urgent that I speak with him!"

"Oh…well, alright Miss Chase, please hold." That crappy music came on the other end of the phone. Luckily, I only had to listen to it for a few minutes before my father's voice came on the line.

"Hello? Allyson?"

I sucked in a deep breath. "Hi, Daddy."

"Allyson? You know, I'm at work, darlin'. Is something wrong?" I hadn't intended to, but I spilled my guts right then and there.

"I couldn't do it anymore, Daddy! He just kept hurting Marissa and Carson. I mean, he used to just hurt me, but then when he got them involved, I just….I just couldn't take it anymore."

"Ally. Darlin', what did they do?" I could tell my Dad was purposely not jumping to any conclusions, but he knew. He'd always known.

"Daddy. Don't play dumb. Please. This is me, you're talking to." My throat began constricting as I tried not to cry. "You know what they do, Daddy. You've always known. But you left us there anyway because you were so angry at what Mom did to you. Please, Dad. Make it up to us now. Help us get out."

He was silent. The phone was practically dead, but I knew he was still listening. Time to make my final plea.

"Please, Daddy. Help us get full custody turned over to you. I know you're busy, but we're seventeen and eleven. We can practically take care of ourselves." I was pulling out every guilt trip and plea that I knew. "Please."

More silence. Then a sigh. "I'll call the attorney first thing in the morning."

I smiled. "Thank you, Daddy. I love you."

I hung up and sighed. Life was going to be good here. I could feel it. Something amazing was going to happen soon. I don't know why I knew….but I knew.

It's amazing the things people can do when they set their minds to it. Within two weeks of me, Carson and Marissa moving in, Dad had done everything he possibly could to make us comfortable. First, he got all custody of the three of us transferred to him and put a restraining order on both Mom and Mike as well as sent the police over to their house to detain Mike for Child Molestation. Then he hired a housekeeper, Wendla to do the cleaning and housework for us. I told him that was unnecessary but it did no good. This was the way Dad could help. In a hands off matter. Though some children may have resented him for it, I decided to take it in stride. He also enrolled us in a local school.

He attempted to enroll me in Forks High School as a Senior and Marissa as well as Carson in seventh grade at Forks Middle but the school insisted they had no room for the upcoming school year. So my father, ever the inventive one, decided to ask the local Indian reservation if they had room. We were a forth Chickasaw Indian on our mother's side and apparently that's the lowest amount you can be and still be allowed in. Never mind the fact that Carson was blonde haired and green eyed, Marissa was brunette with natural red highlights and big, bright blue eyes, while I was a mixture of the two, dirty brown hair and bright blue eyes. None of us were what you would call tan but we had papers proving our ancestry and that's all they needed, I guess. Good to know they were so worried about exclusivity.

Dad also got us a Nanny. Well, not me so much, more for the twins, but a Nanny all the same. Her name was Emily Young and she lived on the reservation. The plan was that I'd drop off the twins to school at 7:30am and then go to school at 8:00am. Emily would pick them up at 2:00 and after my school got out at 3:00, I'd just have to make sure and pick them up from Emily's before 5:00. It was all planned so perfectly, I couldn't believe my luck. What a shock that my Dad could put this all together so quickly but could never quite find the time to come visit us in Sacramento.

It was a Monday and the twins and I had been cooped up in the house for three weeks. We needed to get out. School was set to start the next week and we still knew nothing about our new town. As Carson said, "It was adventure time!" Dad had been home for a grand total of two days since we came to town, but before he left, he gave me the keys to my 2010 dark red Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and a credit card "for essentials" and currently, it was burning a hole in my pocket. I wanted to get out! Meet people, start over, anything!

"Hey Ally! Can we go check out the beach on the reservation today? Eli, next door, says that it's the coolest thing around here. Can we go? Can we see it today?" Carson came bouncing into my large room as I was putting up my hair into a high ponytail on top of my head. My room was honestly a bit ridiculous in size. It had two French doors that opened into a large, fluffy bed with mahogany sides and a canopy up top. I had three dressers and a walk in closet to the right side of my bed and a big screen television with a loveseat positioned to the left. In the back of the room was a large window and monster sized stereo as well as a door that led into my own bathroom. The whole thing was dark purple with black trim and way more than I deserved.

"Sure, Carson. What did Marissa say? Does she want to go too?"

"Yeah, I totally do, Ally! I love the beach!" Marissa said walking up to me with her hairbrush and elastic tie, silently asking me to put it up for her. I whipped it up fast into a ponytail.

"Okay, so get on a few layers. We don't know how hot or cold it will be. Wear flip flops, jean or cargo shorts, a tee shirt and a sweater." Marissa and Carson ran off to their also very large rooms down the hall. They came down a bit later in exactly what I told them to. I loved it when they were cooperative! We piled into my car and got ready to go to the beach.

It was only about a ten minute drive from Forks to the La Push Reservation. Carson sat up front with me, fiddling with my iPod and Marissa sat in the back reading her book. How she did it without getting sick, I'll never know.

"Ally, don't you have anything other than people no one has ever heard of? God! Where is the Linkin Park and Eminem?" Ugh! Had I taught my brother nothing?

"Okay, one, those people are crap and two, since when have you listened to them? Here, let me get you someone good." I snatched my iPod and looked for some Death Cab or Muse, anything but that other crap.

"Ally! WATCH OUT!" Marissa screamed from the back. I dropped my iPod and looked up instantly. We were on a two lane road, but the semi coming from the other side was swerving into both lanes.

"Hold on!" I yelled as I swerved off the road to the right. The jeep, without my help, went speeding down a woodsy hill, as fast as I had ever gone before, but for some reason, my life stopped. I saw my sister in the back, wild eyed and crazed, screaming and hanging on for her life. In contrast, Carson had his eyes closed as if waiting for the end to come. And come it did. My Jeep speed into an especially large Oak Tree, flipped over and the airbags deployed.

Life was quiet, still and peaceful, like we hadn't just disturbed a beautiful place. I didn't dare move. I didn't dare speak. I could feel the blood rushing down the right side of my head where I hit the steering console. It hurt to move, to speak and to breathe, but at least I was awake. Which was more than I could say for my siblings. Carson was knocked out, but I could still see him breathing. His arm and leg were hanging in weird directions but I thought he'd be okay.

"Carson? Carson? Honey. Carson!" Nothing. I looked to the back of the car, where Marissa should be. Marissa? Oh shit! Marissa! She was gone! The car window was broken down next to her, but she was no where to be seen. My vision began blurring. Color to black spotted then color, then more black spots.

"Marissa!" I yelled. "Marissa!"

The darkness began to envelop me and I released my troubles to the beautifully dangerous darkness.

_Jacob P.O.V _

Why in the name of Hell did I come back here? Oh right, because I'm an idiot. She didn't want me anymore. She literally left me to rot while she went and married her beloved bloodsucker. What else does this place hold for me besides memories of me and her and pity from my pack mates.

I had been back for about a week now and not much had changed. More wolves had imprinted, it was now four out of ten with the addition of Paul to, of course, my sister Rachel. Because, that's just how cruel life is. Besides that though, it was same old, same old. We still went on patrol in the same groups, me, Embry, Seth and Quil were one of them and we were all going back to school in a week. Well, six of us were anyway. The only real perceivable difference for me was that I no longer wanted to be here, I no longer wanted friends and I just wanted to be left alone. And those things definitely weren't easy to come by when patrolling, let me tell you.

_Hey, Jake?_

_Yeah, Seth._

_I'm glad you're back. _

_Thanks, Seth._

_The others two just think about girls the whole time. I missed you._

_Great to know._

_Yeah, this whole imprinting thing kinda sucks for those who haven't huh?_

_Yep._

_Hey Jake?_

_Yeah, Seth?_

_Why are you so depressed all time. Is it because of Bella? _Bella. Ugh, that big black hole came back to my heart.

_Way to add insult to injury, Seth._

_Sorry._

_Hey guys! _I heard Embry shout mentally. _Get down here! There's been an accident. People are injured._

Seth immediately went sprinting off and as lethargic as I was, I did too. There was just some wolf like instincts that couldn't be beaten out, no matter how much I tried. As I got closer, I heard a feeble scream, "Marissa!" and then nothing. We arrived at the crash site to see an overturned vehicle, with passengers inside and by the looks of it, those passengers were quite injured. Quil and Embry had already phased back into their human forms to pull the passengers out and tend to them. Seth and I followed suit. Quil had pulled out a young boy, about eleven or ten with blonde tousled hair. He began to stir. I leaned down to talk to him.

"Hey, buddy." I said. "You're going to be okay. We're going to help you. What's your name?" I remembered from survival 101 that Sam had insisted we all go through to try and keep him awake. Quill was still removing pieces of car from on top of the boy so we could move him.

"Carson. Chase. Carson Chase. Where is Ally? And Marissa? Where are they?" He said weakly.

"Who are they?" I asked, looking around. Embry and Seth were removing pieces of car to get another passenger out.

"My sisters. They were in the car. Ally was….was…" he started coughing so I waited for him to finish. "Ally was driving. Marissa is my twin. Help them, please." And with that, he went right back unconscious.

"Damn it!" I exclaimed. I moved over to see the progress the others had made getting one of the girls out of the car.

It's funny how sometimes when you least expect it, something hits you like a ton of bricks. I looked at the face of the girl Embry was working on helping and life as I had known it ended. It was all about….her. Whoever she was. She was what was holding me to the universe. All ties I had previously made to the universe, the ones that I thought had held me here, my father, my pack, my Bella, all of those were cut and restrung in relation to her. All I could think of was a primal instinct to immediately help her. To run and protect my mate, my imprint, my everything. To be whatever she wanted me to be, whatever she needed me to be.

Even though we weren't connected mentally right now, Quil had been studying my face and knew what was about to happen. Things moved in slow motion, Embry leaned forward to brush the hair out of my imprints face. I knew it was innocent but I couldn't help growling to stake my territory, even though I was in human form.

"Embry, move away." Quil said calmly. "I'm about 100% positive that Jacob has just imprinted on the girl you're helping."

Embry looked up at him, looked at me and backed away with his hands up in a non threatening motion. I rushed over to her, clumsily, trying to figure out any way I could possibly help. And then, I heard the most beautiful sound. A sound I wanted to hear forever. She spoke.

"Mariss…not in car…help…her. Please." Her eyes never opened but she just kept murmuring, "Marissa, Marissa," over and over. For some reason, that gave me my mojo back.

"Seth! Phase and scope the area for anyone else. Embry, phase and tell anyone else to get an ambulance to right up the road. Quil, you take care of the boy. I've got her. Move! That's an order!" Because I was the Beta, my orders were to be followed and they all went at once to their tasks. I couldn't help but stare at that beautiful face. She had to be alright. As much as I loved Bella and losing her had been torture, losing this nameless girl in my arms would kill me.

**A/N- There you go! Poor Jakey found a girl! And she's not a baby! I call that progress. Review, Review, Review! - Cosmo Girl**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N- I forgot to disclaimer the last 2 chapters. So...I promise I don't own anything you recognize, just the things you don't. Happy Reading!**

**Chapter 2**

_Ally P.O.V _

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Black.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Darkness.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Gray now.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Color.

Beep. Beep.

Where was I?

A hospital? I looked around at my surroundings. This was definitely a hospital. I had tubes on my arms and hands. But, what had happened?

"Oh! You're awake." A kindly older nurse walked into my room. I simply nodded. My throat was really dry. "You've been here for a couple days now. You have quite a concussion, young lady."

My eyes widened. "My brother and sister. Where-?"

"Your brother is still here. In the pediatric ward. He broke his right arm and right leg but he's recovering very nicely. And your sister was released almost immediately. She left with the young man who brought you in." She said as she left a vase of my favorite flowers on the table. There was a note attached. I grabbed it and unfolded it.

_**Miss Allyson Chase,**_

_**My name is Jacob Black. My friends and I found you after your accident and brought you and your younger brother and sister here. We tried to get a hold of your father with the number Marissa gave us, but there was no answer any of the times we tried. I promise Marissa is in good hands with me. When you are feeling up to talking please call, (209) 817-6534 and I will explain everything. Please, do not worry at all. We have been having a great time. Just worry about getting well.**_

_**Hope to hear from you soon,**_

_**Jacob Black**_

My heart was pounding. Was she really okay? This guy could be some forty year old child molester, preying on eleven year olds. I took a drink of water quickly and grabbed the phone. I dialed the number only to hear a perky voice answer the phone.

"Hi Ally!" I sighed at hearing my sister's voice on the phone. She sounded so happy. I instantly relaxed a bit.

"Hi, honey. How are you? Are you okay?"

"Perfect, Ally! I have been having so much fun! Daddy wouldn't answer his phone when we called so Jacob took me home with him and his friends. They are so nice, Ally. I want you to marry them!" She sighed. I laughed.

"All of them, Riss?" She giggled. "No, maybe just one. Jake! Marry Jake! Because then he could be my brother!"

"Marissa." I said warningly. That's all I needed was my eleven year old sister trying to set me up with someone. She didn't really understand age differences. No way this guy was anywhere close to my age.

"I know, I know." Marissa sighed. "Um, oh Ally! I forgot to tell you the best part! It was a total coincidence but one of Jacob's friends is Sam and Sam's fiancée is Emily! Our new nanny Emily!"

That did make me feel quite a bit better. I mean, I could tell that Marissa was really happy and that no one was treating her badly, but I still had mistrust for men I didn't know. Because of Mike….at this point, however, I was just glad that Marissa hadn't picked up on my blatant insecurities where guys were concerned. I sighed as I relaxed onto the bed, starting to feel a bit more content. At least Emily was on my dad's payroll.

"Ally, I'm going to give you to Jacob now because Quill is taking me and little Claire to the beach! I love you, Sissy!" Marissa said and I could tell she was just brimming with excitement.

"Okay, Mariss. Hey, do me a favor. Just make sure you tell Emily where you're going all the time, okay?" I couldn't help my "big sister" mode, coming in full effect. I could practically see her roll her eyes at me.

"Yes, Sissy. Okay, I'm going to give you to Jacob, but do one thing for me." She hissed quietly.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Be nice! He's really cool." I smiled at Miss Marissa Matchmaker again.

"Okay, Marissa. I'll be nice. Have fun at the beach." She laughed and there was some shuffling around before another voice answered the phone.

"Hello?" The voice was deep and strong, yet caring at the same time and maybe even just a bit…nervous?

"Hi…um, this is Allyson Chase. Marissa's sister. Is this Jacob?" I asked. I have always been really comfortable talking to people but for some reason talking to him made me nervous too. Maybe it was just the situation. It was rather abnormal.

"Yes. It's nice to hear from you. How are you feeling?" It seemed like a silly question. Why on Earth would he care? We had never met and the only time he had ever seen me was when I was not looking my best. Yet, somehow, from his voice alone, I knew that he was completely serious.

"I'm feeling okay…but I don't really know much of what happened. I know I have a concussion though so that might be why I don't remember much."

"Well, from what we know your jeep hit a tree and flipped over," oh my God! My jeep! "From what they'd tell us, which wasn't much, both you and Carson would be released tomorrow." Some of the memories came rushing back. Blurs of people looking over me, pulling me out of the car, telling me I'd be okay. Someone moving my hair…

"Um, Jacob. I want to thank you. For taking such good care of us…" he started to interrupt me with a small squeak of protest but I cut him off again.

"It means a lot to me. Our Dad, well, he isn't really around that much and I'm so happy that Marissa is safe and having a good time." I said, throat constricting just a tiny bit.

"Oh well, it wasn't a huge thing." He said embarrassed. I smiled. Humility in a guy was a huge turn on for me. Turn on? What the Hell was I saying? Man, I haven't had a boyfriend in way too long if I'm wanting to hookup with every guy I speak to.

"Well?" He asked expectantly. Shit! Did, I miss something?

"I'm sorry. What?" I asked.

"Oh well, um, I just asked, if it's okay, I mean, if I could come see you. Make sure your okay and everything. I wouldn't want it to come out at the Rez that our rescue wasn't perfect. It might ruin our reputation, you know." He said jokingly, but I could tell he was serious.

"Oh. Um, I'm not really looking my best right now." I said self-consciously.

"Doesn't matter." Of course it doesn't, Ally! Because he is not interested! My God, get a hold of yourself.

"Okay. Sure." I said smiling. His attitude turned instantly as well. He seemed genuinely happy to be visiting me in the hospital. Weird. We hung up soon after that with his promise that he'd be seeing me later this afternoon.

The hospital moved Carson into my room later that day, since we were both under eighteen and I was so happy to see him! He had an arm with quite a few stitches and a broken leg but his spirits were high and he was doing well. He told me that Dad had called him this morning. Apparently he was stuck in Hong Kong and "couldn't get away", but he sent a few hundred dollars as a get well soon gift. One from the heart, I could tell. Not. It was very nice seeing my brother again. But, I couldn't help wait for Jacob to come visit.

_Jacob P.O.V._

"Jake! For God's sake, eat something!" My friend Jared's girlfriend, Kim, admonished. "She'll call!"

She pushed the plate of barbeque chicken in front of me and I pushed it right back to her. "Not hungry."

"Come on, Jacob!" Seth said eagerly. We were all at Sam and Emily's for lunch for the first time since the incident yesterday. While on patrol, a girl's car flipped with her eleven year old brother and sister inside. Allyson, was her name and she was still in the hospital. The brother, Carson, was hurt the worst, with a broken leg, but the sister, Marissa wasn't hurt at all. We took them all to the hospital, where Marissa was released instantly.

She tried for at least thirty minutes to reach her father by telephone. Nothing. She looked so sad, so lonely. I couldn't just leave her there. Contrary to popular belief, I am a nice guy. Plus, there was another reason, a far more important reason. It was fate, taking Marissa home with me, because it was a supernatural power drawing me to her sister. Her beautiful, dark haired petite older sister. It was Allyson that held me to this world now. Nothing more and nothing less. I could tell now the feelings that Sam had for his fiancé Emily, Jared had for his girlfriend Kim and Paul had for my older sister, Rachel. Mine were the same. The same love, adoration and need to be with her, as much as possible.

I was stuck feeling so….helpless. At least until she called. I couldn't have stayed in the hospital with Allyson because that would have scared her off. So instead, I was substituting by playing babysitter to Marissa. And I didn't even mind. God, I had it bad.

Marissa came into the dining room as my thoughts were consumed with her sister. "Hi, Jake."

"Hey, sweetie. How was your nap? Are you still tired?" I was surprised how just being in the same room as Marissa made me feel better. I knew it wasn't a substitute for Allyson, but it made me feel closer to her.

"Nope, not tired. But, a little hungry." She said. I smiled.

"Well, pull up a chair." Kim said to Marissa, grabbing her plate and loading it up with a normal amount of food. Marissa looked around and saw all the chairs were full. Instead of saying a word, she thanked Kim for the food and sat on the floor. I looked at my pack brothers incredulously. Why wouldn't she just sit on one of us? She was a small eleven year old, the most she could way was ninety pounds.

"Marissa? What are you doing on the floor?" Sam asked in that deep, alpha voice of his. Don't scare her, Sam. Geez!

"Um…sitting?" She asked quietly. The rest of the pack started chuckling softly.

"Marissa, honey," Emily said smirking. Emily had become quite attached to Marissa. Coincidently, she was the nanny that their absent father had hired to start next week, so she was totally fine with getting acquainted early. "I'm sorry we don't have any chairs, but you're really small. Sit on one of the guys. They won't mind."

She was right, none of us would mind. Marissa had all of the older members of the pack wrapped around her finger. She stood up and looked around for a moment, trying to decide which of us to sit on. Then suddenly, she plopped herself down on my lap and began eating her chicken again.

"Guess we know who she likes the best, huh, guys?" Quil teased. A few minutes later, my phone began ringing. I resisted every urge to run to the counter and answer it as quickly as possible. Instead, I let Marissa go answer it first. As if we had a mind connection, I knew that the first thing Allyson would want to know was that her sister was safe.

"Hi Ally!" Marissa exclaimed. She sounded so happy. My werewolf hearing picked up that Allyson was asking if she was okay.

"Perfect, Ally! I have been having so much fun! Daddy wouldn't answer his phone when we called so Jacob took me home with him and his friends. They are so nice, Ally. I want you to marry them!" She sighed. I smiled. Good job, Marissa. Work those adorable powers of persuasion. Allyson laughed and said something about her marrying all of us. And then, Marissa made my day….possibly my life.

She giggled. "No, maybe just one. Jake! Marry Jake! Because then he could be my brother!" I looked at my pack brothers with a huge grin covering my face. They smiled knowingly. I heard Allyson admonish her sister on the other line, though and Marissa began backpedaling.

"I know, I know." Marissa sighed. "Um, oh Ally! I forgot to tell you the best part! It was a total coincidence but one of Jacob's friends is Sam and Sam's fiancée is Emily! Our new nanny Emily! Ally, I'm going to give you to Jacob now because Quill is taking me and little Claire to the beach! I love you, Sissy!" Marissa said. I looked at Quil, questionably. He laughed.

"I guess, Marissa is coming with us to the beach." Quil laughed. Claire was on his lap exclaiming "Riss, beach too! Riss, beach too! Yay!"

I couldn't quite hear what Allyson said to Marissa but it must have been something good because Marissa rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, Sissy. Okay, I'm going to give you to Jacob, but do one thing for me." She hissed lowering her voice as low as she could. I heard Allyson ask, "What?"

"Be nice! He's really cool." I laughed as did Marissa and Allyson. She said something about being nice and told her to have fun at the beach. Marissa gave me the phone and ran up the stairs to get her things for the beach. She was staying the guest room at Sam and Emily's. We had stopped by her house to get some clothes, not knowing how long Allyson would be in the hospital for, so she had almost everything she'd ever need.

I took the phone in my hand, looked to Embry, who gave me an encouraging smile and answered a "Hello?" while stepping out to the backyard.

"Hi…um, this is Allyson Chase. Marissa's sister. Is this Jacob?" She asked. She sounded nervous, but not a scared kind of nervous, more of an excited kind of nervous.

"Yes. It's nice to hear from you. How are you feeling?" I asked. She didn't respond at first, probably judging if I was sincere or not.

"I'm feeling okay…but I don't really know much of what happened. I know I have a concussion though so that might be why I don't remember much."

"Well, from what we know your jeep hit a tree and flipped over. From what they'd tell us, which wasn't much, both you and Carson would be released tomorrow." There was silence on the line. My heart started pounding. Did she hang up? Before I could ask if she was there, she spoke again.

"Um, Jacob. I want to thank you. For taking such good care of us…" I tried to but in, she didn't need to thank me. She wouldn't let me.

"It means a lot to me. Our Dad, well, he isn't really around that much and I'm so happy that Marissa is safe and having a good time." She sounded like she really meant it. Like she was genuinely thankful.

"Oh well, it wasn't a huge thing." I said, cheeks reddening by the second. "Listen, I was wondering if I could come by and see you later this afternoon. If you're up to it, that is?"

Nothing. Silence on the line. I couldn't take it anymore. "Well?"

"I'm sorry. What?" She asked. Maybe she didn't hear me. I tried to repeat exactly what I had said before but I was significantly less confident. What the Hell would I do if she said no?

"Oh well, um, I just asked, if it's okay, I mean, if I could come see you. Make sure your okay and everything. I wouldn't want it to come out at the Rez that our rescue wasn't perfect. It might ruin our reputation, you know." I said, trying to make a joke out of it, but I was completely and one hundred percent serious.

"Oh. Um, I'm not really looking my best right now." She said quietly.

"Doesn't matter." I said. I had fallen in love with her while her hair was matted and bloody in a car crash scene, I think that proved she could wear a potato sack and be beautiful.

"Okay. Sure." She said. I instantly got happy. Like my inner wolf knew that it was going to see the object of its fixation today and was so glad. I felt like I could climb Mt. Everest if she was on the other end.

_Ally P.O.V_

You know what is the worst thing about hospitals? There is freaking nothing to do! The boredom was brutal. Carson was flipping back and forth between old Friends reruns and The Oprah Show. I was riffling through my bag to find all the stuff I'd been without the last few days. Cell Phone, iPod, wallet…that sort of thing. The Doctors had told me that Carson and I would be out of here tonight and I was beyond happy. Seeing how it was Wednesday and school was starting soon. They said that I'd be ready for school on Monday and ready for ballet practice even sooner. Carson, however, got the worst of it. He was getting out tonight, with me, but had to keep his cast for another six weeks. To say he was bummed was a bit of an understatement.

"Ally!" A small, light brown haired whirlwind came bounding into the room and straight into my arms. The first thing I noticed, was that she seemed happy and healthy. Her long hair was put into two braids, one on each side of her head and she ran in here with a huge smile on her face. "Hi Carson!"

"Hey, girlfriend! How have you been? Are you okay? Everything good?" On closer inspection, she did have a small bruise on her exposed arm and a tiny cut on her right cheek.

"Great! I've had the best time! There was so much delicious food and all of the people were so nice! They were your age, Ally, but I wasn't the youngest one there." Uh, oh. She was on overdrive. "Claire was there a lot and she's way younger than me! And they are all so big and mostly boys, but they are really great! They would play with me and read with me. All of them! Sam and Emily and Paul and Rachel and Jared and Kim and Quil and Embry and Seth and Brady and Colin! Even Leah, sometimes! Oh and Jake too! He's the best! He made me this bracelet for me too! Isn't it pretty?"

"Yeah, sweetie. It's very pretty." It really was. It was a small leather bracelet with a tiny charm attached to it. The charm looked hand carved. It was a silver, star shape with "M" carved into it. It was small, but special. And Marissa seemed to really love it.

"I'm going to show Carson!" She jumped off my bed and went to attack her twin brother.

That's when I saw him. How long he'd been there, I didn't know. But he was there and words couldn't describe him. If anything was close, it might have been….beautiful. He was big, 6'4 probably. And really, really fit. He had amazing copper skin and oh my god, did I mention his muscles? But his eyes, those were what caught my attention. Big and dark chocolate colored eyes that looked so honest and alluring I couldn't help but smile widely at him. And to my outrageous surprise…he smiled back.

"I'm surprised she hasn't talked your ear off." I said to the beautiful boy across from me. Oh, what the Hell. I knew that was Jacob. Don't ask me why I knew. I just knew. Knew that must be Jacob.

"Oh, I didn't mind. She's really sweet. Um…I'm Jacob. Jacob Black." He just looked so nervous that it kind of made me giggle. I didn't want to make it any worse on him than it had to be.

"Allyson Chase." I instinctively stuck out my hand to shake his not realizing that I still had a few tubes stuck in it and a few stitches I hadn't noticed before. I pulled it back immediately and examined it. "Yeah, that is kind of gross."

"It's no big deal." He said sweetly. Then he did something I never would have expected. He came over to the left side of the bed, took the hand I had been self-conscious of and shook it, lingering a bit longer than necessary.

"It's nice to meet you, Allyson." He said softly. I was dumbstruck.

"You can call me, Ally." I said just as softly while staring at his big brown eyes intently.

"Then you can call me Jake." I smiled and he did too.

We talked for an hour or more, about nothing really and about everything. Likes and dislikes. Simple things like that. Marissa and Carson even entered into the discussion a bit. They loved him. Absolutely loved him. I was actually a little bit sad when the nurses came in and told Carson and I we were free to go. Spending time with my new friend was so nice that I didn't really want it to end. Plus, the added fact that I didn't know how I was possibly going to get home. My car was probably in a ditch somewhere for all I knew.

"Hey, um…I'm more than happy to take you three home if you'd like. We have to make a stop first but as long as you don't mind that…" Jake started. What a sweetheart.

"Jake, would you? That would be amazing! I have no idea where my car is and would hate to take a bus with Carson looking like he belongs in a body bag." I smiled and playfully hit my brother in the ribs. He looked at me with narrowed eyes and howled in protest.

"Of course. What are friends for, right?" He asked, grabbing my bag for me as Carson and I were rolled out of the hospital. Hospital policy, I was assured, however I did try to fight it as much as possible. Carson was given some pain medication and crutches while all I was given was an embarrassing wheelchair ride. Some kids get all the breaks. When we reached the outside of the hospital, I immediately bounced up out of the chair and realized how tall Jacob really was. My 5 foot 3 inches barely reached his upper arm.

"I'm going to go get the car so that Carson doesn't have to walk. It'll be just a minute, I promise." I nodded and he went jogging off. As soon as he was out of earshot, Marissa turned hungrily to me like a moth to a flame.

"Do you like him, Ally? Do you like him? I think he's great! What do you think Carson? Don't you think Jake would be great with Ally?" Carson nodded dutifully at his twins sudden burst of enthusiasm.

"I think he's very nice, Marissa. He'll be a great friend." I told her pointedly. Her huge smile dropped suddenly. Just as I was about to console her and give her the "talk" about how adult relationships work, her large smile returned to its rightful place, but this time with a bit of a twinkle in her eye. She looked at Carson and I could practically see the twin telepathy happening between them because Carson looked at me with the exact same smile on his face.

"That's okay, Ally. We can wait." Carson said to me. And trouble was I knew that they would.

Jake pulled up a few moments later in a really sexy looking red Rabbit, if I did say so myself. But, I didn't know if the sexyness was just Jacob in the Rabbit. I hadn't decided yet.

"Whatcha think? I made it myself." Jake said proudly, grabbing our stuff and putting it in the trunk. He then opened the back doors to allow Marissa and me to climb in, giving Carson the front seat.

"You made this? It's perfect! Can you fix cars? That's amazing." I asked from the back. He smiled at me.

"Yup. Mechanics is kind of my thing. My friends and I love to find things that aren't working and make them go again. Especially, Quil and Embry. I can't even count the number of hours we've spent in my garage fixing cars. My friend Bella and I even fixed up a pair of motorcycles once." I was suitably impressed.

"Wow." I said. It was the only word that seemed to fit at that point.

"So, I was hoping we could stop at the Rez for a minute. I think Marissa left something at Sam and Emily's." Jacob said.

"Sure, no problem. But, Emily is Marissa and Carson's nanny. It could just wait, right?" I asked, confused.

"Ally! It's my favorite book! I don't want to be without it all weekend. Please!" Marissa asked me, big blue eyes pleading.

"Okay. We wouldn't want to be without All American Girl for another day, would we?" I asked teasingly.

We drove onto the reservation and I was stunned at its unobtrusive beauty. In our old town of Sacramento, all there was were freeways and stores, strip malls and fast food. Here, everything had an authentic hometown feel. Like everyone knew each others names and life stories. It was comforting. He pulled up to a gorgeous but small yellow house with a worn in feel. It looked like what I would want my future house to look like. Not huge and fake like my house. This one was just so, genuine, I couldn't help but smile.

Jacob got out of the car and opened the door to help Carson out. He literally picked him up out of his seat and placed him on the hood of the car. Then he leaned in to help both Marissa and I out of the car. When he helped Marissa, he practically picked her up and carried her out, which made her giggle uncontrollably. For me, though, he held his hand out and stared at me with his big eyes. I grabbed it and an electric current ran through my body. I knew it sounded crazy but I swear he felt it too and I think that's why, even though I was out of the car safe and sound….he didn't let go right away.

"Here Carson, help me go get my book!" Marissa exclaimed. "It'll give you some practice on those crutches!"

"I'll still take you down!" Carson exclaimed, trying his damndest to keep up with her. As they were walking up, a few guys that looked a lot like Jacob came out of the house. One that was a bit taller, a bit bigger and a bit older and one that looked about the same age as Jake. They looked at me and then looked away quickly, in favor of my adorable little siblings.

"Hi, Sam! Hi, Embry!" Marissa said quickly jumping up the steps two at a time and hurling herself into one of their waiting arms. He in turn grabbed her and agile placed her on his back.

"This is my twin brother, Carson and that's my sister Ally!" Marissa exclaimed. She turned to the man who she hadn't attached herself to. "Let's go inside! Does Emily have any food, Sam?"

I looked at her appalled. "Marissa! Use your manners! Apologize, right now!"

They didn't seem to have heard me, as they were already back inside. "Marissa!" I called after them, but to no avail. I saw Jacob laughing next to me.

"It is so not funny, Jacob! She needs to have manners! They are going to think she is some kind of wild child or something!" I exclaimed. "Raised by a pack of wolves. I swear." I murmured under my breath.

Jacob heard me and instantly started laughing even harder. I turned to him with an angry face, but at one look at his, I started laughing too.

"What is so funny?" I asked, trying to control my laughter.

"Oh nothing. Here, I want to show you something." He said. Before I had a chance to figure out what was happening, he grabbed my hand and we ran towards a small shed next to the house.

"Um…it's not perfect." He said nervously, "but, I think you'll like it. Close your eyes."

"What?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Close your eyes." He said, as he put his hands over my eyes. They were so warm, like my very own heating blanket.

"Okay. Open them!" He said excitedly and he took his hands off my eyes. I was momentarily, uncontrollably upset. I wanted his hands back on my face. He moved them to my waist and directed me to where I should be looking. And then I saw it. My jeep. My JEEP!

"Oh, my, God. Oh my God! Oh my God!" I exclaimed, practically falling over, but running to my fixed up car all the same. I felt the paint under my fingers, like it wasn't real. Like it wasn't really here. But it was and Jacob had done it. Jacob had fixed it for me. I whirled around and saw him leaning nonchalantly against the shed door, just as he had done earlier that day in my hospital room. In that moment, that life changing moment, something in my head clicked. I really liked this guy. I mean, I really, really, really, liked this guy.

"Jake. Did you do this for me?" I asked him from the spot next to my car.

"Well, um, I mean, it didn't need too much work, you know. I fixed up the engine and Embry and Quil helped with the framework, but, I mean, uh…." He stumbled. I think he was afraid of scaring me off. I mean, I knew he had done this for me, but in actuality we had only known each other for a few hours.

"You didn't answer my question. Jake." I said my voice dangerously quiet. "Did you do this for me?"

He stared down into my eyes, gulped and nodded. "Yeah."

I decided to put him out of his misery and smiled as wide as I could and ran over to him, practically tackling him in the process. I threw my arms around him and hugged him as hard as I possibly could. He seemed a bit shocked at first but returned the hug heartily, even picking me up a bit in the process. He put me down and I saw the infectious smile on his face.

"Thank you." I said, kissing his soft cheek gently. There was that electric current again. But, this time, I was pretty positive that Jacob felt it too. He grinned and draped his arm around my shoulder as we walked back to the house in a friendly gesture, but maybe more…right? Well, one thing was for sure, I really, really, really liked this guy.

**A/N- Reviews are my drug. I literally get high off them. Please! Keep them coming!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N- Wow, everyone! I am so encouraged by how many of you put me on my your favorites list! Awesome! Also, a special shout out goes to my so far 2 reviewers: Danie Carly Cullen and LadyCeruleanBlue! Thanks so much ya'll! Now, on with the story. Reminder: I own nothing Stephenie Meyer does. **

**Chapter 3**

It had been a few days since we got home from the hospital and things at my house were going great. Emily had been by at least once a day with some delicious treat or another. As much as I told her it was unnecessary, she kept doing it anyway. I did try to pay her for her trouble and for the amount of food I was sure that Marissa had eaten while I was indisposed but she said "no" very forcefully and gave me some more cookies saying that the three of us together only ate about half the food only one of her fiancé Sam's friends did.

One of Jacob's friends also came by to check on us and hang out at least once a day for the last four days…but no Jacob. On Friday it was Quil, Saturday it was Seth, and Sunday was Embry. They came for an hour or two and played games, watched movies and just talked. Like friends. I never really had many friends in Sacramento so this was a very welcome change. However, I couldn't shake off the feeling that they were keeping something from me. They all said Jacob was on a trip with Sam and that he was really, really busy but I couldn't help but think that maybe I had scared him off by being too forward about my feelings for him. I mean, I had made it pretty obvious.

I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to ask Embry on Sunday. Marissa and Carson had already gone to bed since it was going to be their first day of the new routine so it was just Embry and I on the couch playing Uno. Embry was my favorite of the group, even though all of them had made us feel so welcome. They made us feel like we belonged with them or something.

"Hey, Embry. Um, I hate to ask….I mean I don't want to be that girl that gets a bunch of people involved in her stuff but, has Jacob called at all? Or gotten in contact with any of you? I mean, I don't really care or anything. It's no big deal…" I trailed off. God, I was so bad at playing nonchalant. A smile tugged at the sides of Embry's lips.

"Oh yeah, there was something I was supposed to give you. But, I just can't seem to remember it now. Hmmm…well, since it doesn't matter anyway…" He said. I could tell he was toying with me and that was so not okay!

"Okay, okay, I lied. I want to know! What did he say?" Embry laughed and pulled a note out of his back pocket and put it on the table. I stared at it for a moment, not wanting to seem too eager. Embry laughed heartily.

"Just look at it already! My God, Ally. We all know you want to." I glared at him, stared at the note, glared at him and then stared at the note. Before I even knew what I was doing, the note was in my hands and I was unwrapping it.

_**Dear Ally, **_

_**I'm so sorry that I left without saying anything but Sam and I had to make a trip to Alaska to see some old friends of ours and there wasn't much time to see you. Believe me, I wanted to. I'll see you at school tomorrow, though. I'll pick you up from Sam and Emily's in the morning. I want to help you figure out your first day. Wouldn't want any other guys to try and steal your attention when I wasn't looking. Have a great night and I'll see you tomorrow.**_

_**Love, **_

_**Jacob**_

_**P.S.- I missed you. A lot. **_

I would have immediately started squealing if Embry wasn't there staring at me, most likely judging my reaction to the letter. Instead I smiled, folded it back up and put it in my back pocket.

"Anything interesting in that letter?" Embry asked winking. I gave him a funny look and grabbed my cards again intending to beat him at Uno.

"Nope. No big deal." I said coyly, with a small smile that I couldn't hide. Embry grinned and looked back at his cards.

"He likes you, ya know." Embry said quietly. So quietly that I could barely tell what he was saying. But, I heard it all the same.

"No, he doesn't." I blushed. "We're just friends."

"Sure, sure." Embry said and he dropped the conversation. Did Jacob….? No. Of course not! I had no idea what had gotten into me. For some reason, even though I had spent a grand total of three hours with Jacob, I was inebriated by him. I couldn't help imagine his beautiful face and his gorgeous eyes. His big arms around my shoulders and that electric current every time we touched also entered my mind. At this point, I could not wait for school tomorrow. Senior year was off to a great start and I hadn't even stepped onto the school grounds yet.

"Okay, do you guys have everything you need? Backpacks, lunch, pens, paper, all that stuff?" I asked my siblings as they practically jumped out of my car for school the first morning.

"Yep. Got it. Bye, Ally!" Carson exclaimed as he hobbled off on his crutches with Marissa in tow.

"Bye guys." I said quietly laughing at their enthusiasm. I drove off back to Sam and Emily's house. It was only 7:30am and my first class didn't start until 8:30. Plus, I knew Jacob would be there. So even though it would be a little weird, me just showing up at their house, I pushed that aside in favor of seeing Jake. I drove up and as I parked, I saw Jacob practically run out of the house with a huge grin on his face and stuffing a bagel into his mouth

"Ally!" He exclaimed jogging over to me.

"Jacob! Hi!" I yelled back, trying but failing in every way of wiping the grin off of my face. He came over and gave me a huge bear hug. So big, that I couldn't help but feel myself lifted off the ground. I resisted every urge to wrap my legs around his waist; it wasn't without its difficulty though. God, what was my problem!

"Are you ready for your first day at the Tribal School?" Jake asked me after the hug.

"Yep. As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." He laughed at my obvious nervousness and put his arm around my shoulders and gave me a brief hug, then let go. We took my car to school as Jake had run to Sam and Emily's from his house. He told me that Embry and Quil were Seniors too, Seth was a Junior and Brady and Collin were Freshman, so there would be plenty of people to talk to if we didn't have that many classes together. Jacob seemed a bit, nervous? I don't know if that was the right word for it. Jumpy, maybe? I didn't know but I was so nervous that I didn't really notice.

We parked and Jacob hopped right out and opened my door for me before I could even protest. "Here you go, m'lady."

"Thank you kindly, sir." I said as I grabbed his hand and hopped out of my car. I leaned in to grab my book bag but Jacob beat me to the punch.

"Here, Ally. I'll get it for you." And with that, he grabbed my small purple backpack for me and slung an arm around my shoulder. I thought about it for a minute, and put my arm around the small of his back. Jacob smiled at me and led me into school.

The first half of the day went by pretty well. I had first period Chemistry with Embry and Quil. Then second period Algebra II with Jake, Quil, Seth and one of my new friends, Tasha Wilder. Next was Third period AP Sign Language with Tasha and Forth period English with Jake, Embry and Quil. And then Lunch. Sweet, sweet lunchtime.

"Hey, are you new here?" A small, greasy haired guy asked me as I was getting my lunch from the cafeteria line. Everybody else had been ahead of me and I had told them I would meet at their table outside a bit later. "I'm Jeremy. I know everything about this place. I can be your own personal tour guide."

And then he winked. But not just any wink. A really gross, lust filled wink. Ew. I think I might have lost my appetite.

"Oh. I am new but, uh, no thanks." I said, walking out of the cafeteria, lunch tray in hand. He was not to be deterred apparently.

"Are you sure? Because, a pretty girl like you shouldn't be all alone at lunch." He said, chasing after me, long, greasy hair flying.

"I won't be alone. I have friends I said I'd sit with." I told him. I'd just noticed the table I was aiming for. It had Embry, Quil, Jacob, Seth, Collin and Brady already sitting there and two empty chairs. I hoped to God one of them was for me.

"You. Are sitting with them!" Jeremy said incredulously. I had already kind of figured out why. Oddly, Jacob and his friends were like an anomaly around here. No one ever talked to them, but everyone talked about them and everyone knew them. They didn't really help their own reputation though. They never really talked to someone not in their group, but they did take care of their own. I had at least one friend to sit with every class, they had completely made sure of that.

"Um, yeah. I think so, I mean." Suddenly my new friend Tasha came walking swiftly up to me. Her dark, curly hair cascaded down her back and her pretty brown eyes winked at me underneath her glasses.

"Hiya, Ally!" Tasha said sweetly. She was so far, my best friend I had met here, besides Jake. She was super sweet and made a point of coming up to me in second period, sitting right next to me and welcoming me. "Got somewhere to sit yet?"

"Um, well…I was going to go sit by Jacob." She looked visibly downtrodden. I had gotten the impression from her over the last few hours that she didn't really have a bunch of friends. It made no sense to me. She was the nicest girl I'd ever met. I mean, she wasn't supernaturally pretty; she was a little bit overweight and had glasses, but her beautiful personality more than made up for anything she may or may not be lacking. "Come with me!"

She looked over toward the table and saw the boys messing around, eating a ridiculous amount of food and laughing raucously. "I don't know…"

"Please?" I said. "I'd love another girl to sit with. And they are really sweet. You'll like them."

She still looked a little unsure, but I grabbed her by the hand anyway and took her with me. Jeremy mumbled a something that sounded an awful lot like "can't compete with those steroid heads" and took off in the other direction.

"Hey guys. Can Tasha and I fill these two seats?" I asked walking up to their table. The two seats were next to each other and one was by Jacob and the other by Embry.

"Of course." Jacob said. He and Embry stood up and held out the seats next to them for us to sit in.

"Thank you." I said to Jake while occupying the seat next to him. Tasha mumbled a quick "thank you" as well.

"You're sure you don't mind?" Tasha asked the group a few minutes later. "I mean I could go sit…"

"I told you you're welcome all the time, Tasha." Embry said softly. I was pretty sure only Jake, Tasha and I could hear. The other boys were busy with some weird food throwing and catching in each others mouths contest. Tasha looked at him incredulously.

"I didn't think you were serious." She said quietly, staring at him.

"I was." He said simply. I, after hearing this exchange, looked at Jake quizzically. He shot me a knowing smile and I tried my hardest to stifle a giggle. Embry liked Tasha. It was so obvious now that I saw the way he reacted around her. Note to self, get Tasha to like Embry back.

The rest of the day went by without incident. I had Fifth period Government with only Embry and I had Sixth period Dance with Tasha. Even though the day went pretty well, and I had made some friends, it was so nice to be in the comfort of Dance class again. Contemporary Dance had always been a comfort to me, since I was a little girl and my parents had put me in my first pee-wee jazz class. Even at three, I could always channel more emotion into my dancing than I could in my everyday life. I knew I was better than the other girls in my class, and honestly, they knew it too, but I was willing to dumb down a bit of what I knew, just out of appreciation that I had an outlet. Any outlet for the emotions I knew I couldn't speak.

Jacob and Embry met Tasha and I outside the Gym after school, an unexpected and very welcome surprise. At least for me. Tasha still looked very uncomfortable with the whole Embry situation. She didn't know what to do with herself.

"Hey, Tasha?" I asked as we headed over to the student parking lot. "Do you want to come over tonight? My dad is always out of town so it's just me, my brother and sister. We could study and stuff, if you want."

"I'd love to!" She said excitedly. She was looking at me, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Embry stare at Tasha in shock. He's never heard her be that excited before and the look on his face was like one who had seen the sun for the first time in a few weeks. "I'll have to ask my father, he's a little strict, but I'm sure it'll be okay."

"No boys allowed, huh?" Jacob asked, with a pout forming on his lips.

"Nope. Not this time." I said teasingly. "Maybe next time?"

Always the surprising one, Jacob leaned down and whispered in my ear. "You promise?" I got an excited shiver down my spine. Maybe, just maybe he did...never mind, Ally. Don't even think about it. Jacob doesn't look at you like Embry looks at Tasha.

I drove Jacob to his house and dropped him off with a promise to see him the next day. Then I drove to Emily's to pick up the munchkins. On our way home, I figured that was when I would die….because Marissa and Carson were going to talk me to death!

"…And then, I met this friend, Amberle and she was so nice and she introduced me to all the other cool kids at school. They are going to be my best friends, probably. And I had Music class, Math, English, Gym, History and Science…"

"Yeah, I had the same classes too, except not in the same order. I only have English, History and Science with Marissa. But I met some friends too! They were all really cool. But Kenny was the funniest. I think I like him the best. His older brother is Brady, one of the guys that Jacob hangs out with; do you remember him, Marissa?"

"Oh, I totally do! He was really nice, with black curly hair. He's a bit younger than you, Ally. He's like 14 or something. Oh! And then after school, Emily came and picked us up and she had made us a snack and helped us with our homework and everything! It was so great!"

"So, you had a good time today?" I asked when I could get a word in, which wasn't until I parked in the garage. My father's car wasn't in their. Surprise, surprise. He had actually called that morning, asked how we were doing and if we'd need any more money. He also said he wouldn't be home for another week or so. He said he was in London on business.

When we entered the house, we saw a note from Wendla saying she had made dinner for the three of us already, cleaned the house and done the laundry but that she was going to go home early.

"So, do you guys have any homework to finish?" I asked them as I took off my shoes and started heading upstairs, with the twins in tow.

"Nope. All done!" Carson said and Marissa nodded dutifully. "Sam and Emily helped us with it today."

"Good! You guys can go watch T.V. if you want. But, I have a friend coming over tonight. Can you let her in if she gets here? I'm going to go upstairs and work out."

They nodded and ran to the T.V. As I was walking up the stairs I heard a "It's mine!" "No. My turn with the remote!" coming from the Family Room. I shook my head and went to the door next to mine. It was originally supposed to be a guest room, but my Dad had put hardwood floor in there and attached a ballet bar to the walls. It was my official favorite room in the house. I put on my workout clothes, a pair of bicycle shorts, a tank top and some jazz shoes and tied my hair up in a ponytail. After stretching out, I put on my workout CD. Right as I was about to start, my cell phone began vibrating.

_One new text message from Tasha Wilder_

_**Hey Ally, it's Tasha. I'm coming over now. Bringing English homework. Help! Haha. Be there in ten?**_

I read it, laughed and sent a reply back.

_**Cool. I love Hamlet! Plus, read it Jr. year my old school. Lol. Siblings will let you in the house. See you soon :-)**_

I finished the text and got back into my starting place in the middle of the floor and pressed play on the stereo. And, of course, just as I finished my first combination, the cell started vibrating again.

_One new text message from Jacob Black_

_**Hey cutie :-) Bummed I won't be hanging w/ you tonight. Have fun your girls night. See you school tomorrow.**_

I sighed. He was so sweet! Ugh! And confusing! He likes me? But he never really tells me…or is this his way of telling me? I mean, we weren't really just friends…at least I suspected so. But, we weren't together or anything. Ugh! Now what the Hell do I say back! It took me a few minutes before I could formulate a response, but I decided to just take the plunge.

_**Aww…I'm bummed too :-( I'm sure we'll have fun but maybe you and me could hang later this week?**_ _**I kinda, sorta, maybe miss you. **_

Sent. Oh my God. Oh my God. What did I just do? Oh. My. God. Must dance. Must dance right now! I ran over to the stereo and pumped it as high as it could go on shuffle. First song, _California_ by Phantom Planet. How fitting. I was so conflicted by my "relationship" or not….with Jake that I added in a lot of combos I did rarely. Back handsprings, extended pirouettes, one-handed cartwheels and many other gymnastic additions were just some that I jumped into with almost no preparation. Probably not the smartest plan but, eh, what could you do? As the last chord hit and I struck my final pose, I heard my phone vibrate again. What the Hell?

_Four new text messages from Embry Call, Emily Young, Tasha Wilder and Jacob Black_

Jeez! Are you kidding me? I was only dancing for, like, three minutes!

_**Hey Ally! Could you do me a favor? Can you put in a good word for me with Tasha tonight? I really like her, but she doesn't give me the time of day. :-(**_

I was right! Embry did have a thing for the Tasha! How exciting! At least if things didn't work out for me and Jacob than maybe it could work out for them.

_**Sam and I want to take the twins to PA Fri after school to do some shopping. They won't be home until late but we could just keep them overnight? Call me. **_

Oh they'd love that! Note to self: ask the twins about it a bit later.

_**I'm here but your brother and sister have taken me hostage and subjected me to The Hannah Montana Movie and Operation. Help :-) lol**_

Of course they had! Little monsters! I didn't even bother changing my shoes as I sprinted down the stairs, reading the last text as I went.

_**You know what? I kinda, sorta, maybe miss you too ;-) Even though it's only been a few hours. What are you doing Friday night?**_

It worked! Huge relief poured off my shoulders. I was so stoked. I put in my reply as fast as possible.

_**Not doing anything that I know of. Sam and Em taking the twins to PA that night so I'll be all alone. Want to keep me company? :-)**_

As I entered the kitchen to get to the family room, all I heard was _buzz, buzz, buzz,_ and exasperated cries.

"Hey, Tasha! I'm sorry; I didn't know you were here! They were supposed to tell you I was upstairs in the studio. Not capture you!" I said throwing looks at my siblings. They responded with angelic smiles. I rolled my eyes.

"No big thing. Carson's beating my butt at Operation. Hold on one minute. He's only 11, I should be able to beat him!" She laughed. I took the time to read my latest text message and it made my heart soar.

_One new text message from Jacob Black_

_**I'd love to :-) Looking forward to our first official date. I've wanted to ask you out since I met you but I didn't want to scare you off ;-)**_

"Damn it! I mean…Darn it! He won. I want to go to college to be a surgeon and he won?" Tasha exclaimed. "Okay, sorry. You said you had a dance studio?"

"Yeah, it's upstairs. Come check it out" I said leading the way. "Make sure you heat up dinner and eat tonight guys. No junk food until after."

"Got it!" Marissa said turning her attention back to The Hannah Montana Movie.

"So, Tasha…What do you think about Embry Call?" I asked innocently as we walked to my room.

The following week went by so slowly it was hard to imagine. Classes were going well and my friendship with Tasha was awesome. I'd never really had a best friend before and it was great. We did everything together, including eating lunch; however I expected that more than half of the reason she sat with us was to hang out with Embry. With my great advice, Tasha had started texting Embry and they were beginning a friendship, which was all Tasha was ready for. And surprisingly, Embry wasn't looking to pressure her. Which had not been my experience with guys, Jacob excluded, but whatever. We spent the school day hanging out and often spent the time after school together, usually with Tasha over at my house. Her father and mother didn't know that I was without a parental figure, but we decided that was probably for the best. They were a little strict.

On Friday afternoon, I kidnapped Tasha and we rushed home after school in order to get everything ready for what we were calling "The Big Date". Jacob would be coming over at 6:00pm so I had planned to kidnap Tasha until about 5:50pm, that way I wouldn't have to be left alone. We spent the entire afternoon getting me ready. I picked out a very cute and casual outfit since this was only a dinner and movie at my house type thing. Tasha helped me pick a knee length jean skirt, white tank top and an overlapping bright pink spaghetti strap shirt. We did mani/pedis and she helped me tie up my hair exactly how I wanted it. It was pretty relaxing…except for the huge rock sitting in my stomach. I was nervous. Really nervous, even though this was just Jacob.

5:50pm came fast and I had to let Tasha go home. I left her with the promise I'd give her all the details tomorrow (which barely satisfied her, but what could you do?) The doorbell rang at exactly 6:00. I ran to the door, and then realized how eager I was looking, stopped and fixed my hair in the mirror. I took a deep breath; made sure my lip-gloss didn't need any adjustment and opened the door.

He looked perfect. Like a picture from a Men's Health magazine. He was wearing a pair of nice jeans and a navy blue t-shirt that barely fit over his bulging muscles. Again, I marveled at how tall he was compared to me. Even though I saw him everyday at school, tonight was different. He knew it and I knew it. There was a small bit of awkwardness where we didn't know whether to hug tightly or softly, but we stumbled our way through it.

"So are you hungry?" I asked him, walking into the kitchen.

He laughed. "Pretty much you can assume that I am always hungry."

"Awesome! How does chicken stir-fry sound? I gave my Dad's housekeeper, Wendla, the night off, so it's pretty much just me making dinner. Are you sure you're ready for that?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Should I be concerned?" He asked with a laugh.

"Maybe. I mean, there is a reason my Dad has a housekeeper, right?" I waved the wooden spoon at him. "I'm just kidding. I'm actually a pretty good cook. I used to make all the dinners for me and my siblings when we lived with my mom."

I began chopping the vegetables at the counter. Jacob came up behind me and put his minty breath in my ear.

"Can I help?" He asked. I involuntarily shivered. He was helping me pretty much by his existence right now.

"Sure. Uh, want to peel the carrots?" I said softly. His mouth didn't move from my ear.

"I can handle that." He said softly and then moved away to the other side of the kitchen. I swear I was about to faint. We finished making and eating dinner but we also finished the easy conversations. I knew it was time for the hard stuff, I just wasn't sure which one he'd pick first; My parents divorce, leaving my mom's house, my dad's constant absence there were just so many to choose from. "So you never really talk about what your life was like before you moved here. You lived with your mom right? What happened there?"

Ooh. He picked the hard one right out of the gate. Perceptive much? As I saw it, I had three choices here. Choice #1- I tell him nothing about my life before here, just that I wanted to live with my dad. Choice #2- I say something weird and vague like "life just wasn't working for me there." Choice #3- I tell him. I tell him everything and hope he doesn't instantly reject me. Decisions, decisions. Okay, here goes.

"Oh. Well, yeah. When my parents got divorced it was because my mom cheated on my dad with this guy named Mike. My dad was so upset that he left without a word, meaning that custody was given to my mom almost entirely. Then she married Mike and things were good…for awhile. But, then Mike went a little crazy. He started…um, well….taking advantage of the four of us. I have an older brother too, Josh. He's in college at UCLA. Anyway, whenever we tried to tell my mom about it, she did nothing. She just started getting drunk earlier and earlier in the day. So…I finally got sick of it. I left, and I took Marissa and Carson with me. And, that's how we ended up here I guess." I said, staring straight down at the table, never once meeting his eyes. I was pretty sure he'd be out the door any second.

"And by 'take advantage' you mean…" Jacob started. I kept my eyes right down at the table.

"Yeah…it's what you think. He's in jail, I think, right now. But, I don't know. My mom would never press charges." I said softly. Silence overtook the room. Damn my obsession with the truth! I should have gone with choice number one. I saw Jacob's hand begin to tremble. That got me curious enough to look up from my permanent fixture on the floor. He looked…angry? Shit!

"I'm sorry. I know it's probably what you weren't looking for in a date." I started rambling. "I mean, it wasn't my fault, he would just get so angry and then he would want to do things, you know? And, I couldn't run away any earlier because I needed enough money to make it out here. I swear to God, I didn't enjoy it." Stop talking, Ally! Stop talking! But I couldn't. He still had this weird expression on his face, like he wanted to punch something.

"Really. I mean, I really like you, like really, really like you, but I would totally understand if you want to leave right now and never talk to me again. It's my own fault, I have this weird obsession with the truth. I can't help but tell you things about me, I just figured I could trust you, you know? But, I totally understand if you're mad, I mean I kind of led you on without telling you…" I sighed.

Damage was done. Uh, oh, the tears were threatening to come. Once again, Mike ruins my life. And he didn't even have to be here this time! I stared at Jacob's face, the anger was being replaced with something else. Something completely different. He got up from his chair and I figured that was it. Way to ruin everything, Ally. You've only been here two weeks and you've gotten into a car accident and had your heart broken. But then, surprising me once again, instead of leaving, Jacob got down on his knees next to my chair, grabbed my hands and turned me so that I was looking down at him for a change. I could no longer hold in the tears, they started free-falling, but there was nothing I could do about it so I looked away, sniffling.

"Allyson? Honey, look at me." It took me a second, but I turned around to see his face looking at mine, so genuine and so intensely, I couldn't help but stare. "Did you think I would be mad at you?"

I nodded, tears still falling down my cheeks. Its times like these I wish I wasn't a crier. "I'm kind of damaged goods. I'm not…I'm not the girl you deserve." I answered quietly. He grabbed me into a huge hug, so much so that I was practically sitting on his lap. I couldn't help it; I hugged him as tight as I possibly could, breathing in his scent. It was woodsy and beautiful, just like the Reservation itself.

"You aren't damaged goods and I would never be mad at you. Ever. I couldn't be. It just isn't possible, okay?" I nodded. He pulled me out of the hug and put his hands on both sides of my face. He wiped away the tear stains with his large thumbs. "And, just for the record, I really, really like you too."

I laughed and gave him another big hug. Without breaking apart he lifted us both off the ground and placed me feet on the floor.

"Want to watch a movie?" I asked, voice coming back to me.

"Sure, Sure." Jacob said. "Why don't you pick a movie and I'll rinse out these dishes, okay?"

"Are you sure?" I asked. He winked at me.

"It's only fair, I mean, you did do the cooking." He said grabbing the dishes and rinsing them in the sink. I smiled and went into the Family Room where our DVD's were kept. Jacob came in a few minutes later.

"Picked yet?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yep. I picked three of my favorites, now you pick which one you like. _Juno_, _X-Men_ or _The Sixth Sense_?"

He thought about it for a moment and ended up picking _The Sixth Sense_, which is what I was hoping he'd pick. That one gave me an excuse to cuddle him inconspicuously during the movie. We started the movie and sat about an arms length from each other on the black leather couch. Every few minutes one of us would move a little, tiny bit closer to the other. By the middle of the film, Jacob had done the "yawn and put arm over the date's shoulder thing". I took that as a good sign. He was so warm. Like my own blanket. I leaned my head against his shoulder and he put his on top of mine. I was just so comfortable and so tired. I was so tired that I wasn't quite thinking straight as evidenced by my next action. I wiggled down from his shoulder onto his lap and promptly fell asleep. Though I am almost 100% sure that he pressed a kiss against my light brown hair before I dozed off completely.

That night was the first night I dreamt of Jacob Black.

**A/N- Remember, your reviews are the highlight of my day! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N- Wow! Everyone's reviews were so amazing this time around! I am so happy to have such loyal readers! Thank you all so much! As always, anything you recognize...not mine.**

**Chapter 4**

_Jacob P.O.V_

If I did not have a beautiful girl lying in my arms right now, I would phase and go find that Son of a Bitch step-father of my imprint. The wolf in me wanted to kill him. The wolf wanted to kill him for ever hurting my imprint or causing her any pain. I loved this girl. So much. And tonight only proved how much I really did. Even though I hated her step-father, I loved that she trusted me enough to tell me about her past. I couldn't wait until Sam gave me the okay to tell her my big secret.

I picked up my Allyson gently and took her up the stairs. She was so tiny. I mean, she couldn't have been more than 120 pounds soaking wet, and a lot of it was muscle. Her light brown hair was over her lightly tanned face. I moved it slightly with my thumb wanting to stare at her face some more. It was far and away the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

I walked down the upstairs hallway to try and find her room. I finally found it at the end of the hallway. It was huge. Her room was quite possibly bigger than my house. How would a girl like that, a girl with money and every opportunity, want to be with me? I mean, maybe I was just kidding myself. Just because I imprinted on her does not mean she would feel the same way. Just because that's how it worked out for Sam, Jared and Paul, doesn't mean it'll be the same with me. But, I guess, at least my imprint will talk to me. Embry was still barely getting any time with his Tasha.

I placed Ally on the bed gently and covered her up with a blanket. I was planning on leaving right away but then I heard a sound from my Allyson that made me stay a little bit longer.

"Jacob…thank you…Jacob…I love…." She murmured. Come on, Ally. Finish saying it! Does she love me? I crawled in next to her and played with her hair absently for a few moments. It was unbearable how much I wanted to kiss her at that moment. Even just looking at her made me a bit, well, excited.

Ugh. Time for a wolf like run, I guess. Maybe that'll make me feel better. I wrote a quick note to my Allyson and placed it right on her pillow along with a bracelet I had made her. I was planning on giving it to her earlier that night, but she had fallen asleep so peacefully. I jumped out her window and pulled of my clothes as I phased. Embry and Leah were phased as well.

_Hey man! How are things going with Ally?_

_Pretty good, Embry. Today was especially great._ I tried not to let my feelings and pictures from tonight seep through, but I couldn't help it. Her face filled my mind, along with all the feelings that went with it.

_My God, boys! Cut it out! I do not want to start having lesbian feelings for your imprints! You are just as bad as Embry!_

We both growled at her and she backed up. _Whatever, I'm off anyway. Seth is on next. Peace out_.

_Wait, Leah! Just tell Seth not to bother. It's gonna be a slow night and I won't be able to sleep anyway. I'll take his shift and he can owe me for another time._

_Got it. At least you two lovebirds will only be inflicted on each other. _

Both Embry and I rolled our eyes and went for a nice mind clearing run. Except it wasn't mind clearing. It was mind filling. With thoughts of her and only her. Just Ally.

_Ally P.O.V._

I woke up next morning to the peaceful sounds of birds chirping outside my window. No blaring alarm clock, no screaming eleven year olds, just…peace. I yawned and thought about the dream I had just had. It was so vivid. Jacob holding me and kissing me. Myself, falling in love with him…It was a really great dream, but it made me miss him all the more. I rolled over to the other side of the bed and saw a note, folded up with handwriting that said, "My Allyson". I opened it up eagerly and read what was inside.

_**My Allyson,**_

_**Last night was amazing. I loved spending time with you and I miss you so much already. Call me when you wake up and maybe we can spend some time together on the Rez today? I know you have to pick up Marissa and Carson so they could come too. The whole group is planning on taking a trip today anyway. Oh, and I made this bracelet for you, that way you can take a piece of me anywhere you go.**_

_**Love, **_

_**Jacob**_

_**P.S.- I kinda, sorta, maybe like you a lot. Just thought you should know**_

So it wasn't a dream, huh? Oh, Hell yeah! I hopped out of bed as fast as possible and ran into the bathroom, fastening the bracelet on as I went. I washed my face, threw on a cute summer-y outfit and called Jacob at about 10:30am.  
"Good Morning." He said when he answered the phone. I giggled.

"Good Morning to you, too. I'm sorry I fell asleep last night, but thanks for putting me to bed."

"No problem. You were really cute." I blushed and giggled. "So you got my note?"

"Yep, and your present. Thank you, it's beautiful." It really was. It was an intricately woven purple, brown and gold bracelet that matched almost perfectly with my skin tone.

"I'm glad you like it. So, I was wondering if you wanted to go to First Beach with us today. The whole group is planning on going. Even the older ones." I was intrigued, I hadn't really met the older ones yet and if I was going to be getting closer to Jacob, I should probably make sure his friends like me.

"Sure. I mean, Marissa and Carson would have to come too."

"No problem at all. I love those guys." He said sweetly, he then dropped his voice really low, like there were people around he didn't want to hear the next part. "I can't wait to see you, honey. I miss you already."

I smiled wide. "I miss you too. Meet you at the beach at around 2:00?"

"Sounds great." He said. "Hold on one second."

I nodded and said "Okay." Then, I heard him on the other line saying things like. "No, you can't", "Deal with it yourself," and my personal favorite "No, you may not use my girl as your personal carrier pigeon." His girl. He better have been talking about me. He was.

"Hey, so Ally, you still there?" Jacob asked tensely.

"Um, yeah?" I said. What was he mad about?

"Embry wants to talk to you." I laughed. Of course he did. The last few week, though I'd become friends with all of the guys that hung out at our table, Embry was for sure my favorite. He was just so much fun to talk to and never took things too seriously, which was one of the things I looked for in my friends.

"Are you going to let him?" I asked as I heard a booming voice in the background whine "c'mon Jake, please? I need her help!"

"Thinking about it." He said tensely again, though this time I understood he wasn't mad at me, but at his friend's persistence. "I'm not a huge fan of the idea…"

This time I heard Embry's voice much more clearly. "If you do not give me the phone right now, I will tell Ally what you told me last night about…" There was a quick yelp on the other side of the line and the next voice I heard was not Jake's.

"Hey Ally." I heard Embry's laughing voice. "I have a question for you. Actually, a favor is more like it. Do you think you could…"

"…could invite Tasha to the beach today and coincidently meet up with you guys there?" There was silence on the phone until I heard Embry speaking to Jacob.

"Wow, Jake. You have a smart girlfriend." Embry deadpanned. Oh, awkward. It just got awkward. We actually weren't together yet. What was he going to say? Probably some hemming and hawing, something about how we weren't together. Yuck. There was almost no good way this conversation could turn.

"I know. I'm really lucky." He said. Well played, Mr. Black. Good answer.

"Yes, please." Embry said, to me this time.

"No problem. I got it all handled." I told him.

"Thanks, Ally!" Embry said. "Oh, hold on, Jake's telling me something. Uh, he says he never wants to talk to you again."

"No I didn't!" Jake yelled from far away.

"Yeah, he says that he didn't really like you that much and that I'm the far sexier one in our friendship."

"NO, I DIDN'T! AND NO YOU'RE NOT!" Jacob screamed. I started laughing. That just egged Embry on.

"He said he'll be the best man at our wedding."

"ALLY! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!"

"And that he doesn't want to see you for the next few weeks."

"NO. I. DIDN'T!"

"Oh, sorry. Months."

"GIVE ME THE EFFING PHONE!"

"Okay, bye Ally! See you later today, my love!" Embry teased as he hung up the phone. Oh, those boys! What was I going to do with them?

It took a bit convincing to get Tasha to come with us to the Beach. She had said some excuse about studying or something. However, once I told her that Embry had specifically asked for her to come, she happened to "find" some time in her busy schedule to come with us.

A few hours later, Tasha, Marissa, Carson and I pulled up to First Beach on the Reservation and saw a nice little campsite already made up, equipped with a volleyball net, barbeque, tables, umbrellas and everything for a perfect picnic. All I could see from this far up was a bunch of tan people. Suddenly I was a bit more self-conscious of my pale skin. At least Tasha was tan like them. I needed about 40 hours in a tanning bed to match up.

"I don't know about this, Ally. Are you sure they wanted me to come?" Tasha asked tugging on the bottom of her shirt self-consciously. On the way over, she told me a lot of her story. About how before school started, she never had any friends because her parents were so strict, she spent all of her free time studying. Then, on Senior Orientation when she went to get her schedule, Embry Call sat next to her and started talking to her, though he'd never spoken to her before. She was convinced that this was a joke and that at one point everyone at school was going to go back to treating her like a social outcast. I did my best to convince her that Embry really did like her, but I don't know if it went through. She was pretty convinced of the other option.

"Of course, Tasha. Come on! The kids are leaving without us." They were. Marissa had started running down to hill into Sam's waiting arms. She had become really attached to him. All interactions I had with him had been a little tense and awkward but Marissa, even though she was eleven, was a good judge of character. Carson had gotten a walking cast and was hobbling down the hill to play catch with Brady and Collin. They were only two years apart and were a regular fixture at Sam and Emily's when the twins were there. Come to think of it, I'd seen everybody at Sam and Emily's at least once over the past week. Their house was the hangout spot. Probably because Emily was an amazing cook! I'd had dinner over there once or twice this week alone and she was way better than Wendla.

Tasha and I made our way down the hill and we were met by a very excited Embry. "Hi, Tasha."

He gave her a bear hug, like the ones Jacob gave me, and whispered in her ear. "I'm gonna mess with Jake. Hold on one second."

Jake started jogging up behind him and I felt myself be taken off the ground.

"Hey hot stuff!" Embry said to me as he picked me up and spun me around. When he put me down, I smiled and playfully slapped him on the arm. Ouch, that kind of hurt. Jake stopped. I saw Jacob's face a little bit ahead and my heart melted. He did not look amused. He had a look mixed with confusion and hurt. This little game of Embry's had taken a nasty turn and I didn't want to let my man down.

"Hi, Embry." I said, doing my best to sound as bored as possible. I looked to Jacob and put on my biggest smile. It wasn't the hardest acting job I'd ever done. I squealed a "Hi, baby!" and ran as fast as I could into his arms.

My only intention was to give him a really big hug, but something else entirely happened. I was only wearing my bikini top and a pair of plaid pink shorts and he was only wearing a pair of cutoffs with no shirt. When I ran into his arms and threw mine around him, the skin to skin contact between us ran an electric current through my body. I got excited just by the proximity of him to me. My arms tightened around his neck and he lifted me up and tightened his arms on the small of my back. I breathed in his woodsy smell and didn't care who else was watching. His grip didn't seem like it was tight enough. Not letting go, I ran my long fingernails up and down his neck, pressed my lips to his cheek, slowly, and whispered in his ear.

"I was just kidding around with Embry. You're my favorite, baby." I swear I felt a shiver go down his spine as he smiled, spun me around and put me down. Then he put my arm around my shoulder protectively.

"Ugh. I guess this isn't the first time I'd been looked over in favor of Jacob." Embry sighed. He slung his arm around Tasha's shoulder.

"That's okay, I'm pretty sure I like you the best." Tasha said looking up at the pouting Embry.

"Well, that's all I need then, don't you think, Jake?" Embry smiled. Jake nodded and moved his arm off of my shoulder. It felt bare and empty without his warmth there. I tried not to let my disappointment show but then he moved that arm that was around my shoulder and slowly brushed it against mine until we were fully touching. He then interlaced our fingers together and I realized something I had never thought of before. The spaces between my fingers were right where his fit perfectly. Ugh, I was so cliché! We walked back to where everyone else was, hand in hand. Everyone was there. Everyone I had met in the group and even the ones I had only heard about. Sam, Emily, Seth, Brady, Collin and Quil were all there. Paul was there as well, a rather large and slightly intimidating guy and his girlfriend and also Jacob's sister, Rachel. Jared, a smaller but really funny guy was there with his outgoing girlfriend Kim, who I ended up making fast friends with, was there also. Leah, Seth's sister, was there, but she didn't really talk much, and especially not to me. The only person missing was Emily's niece, Claire, who was three years old. The guys said she often came over to her Aunt Emily's for fun gatherings like this but she had a ballet recital that night and her parents didn't want her too tired out. Apparently, that was where Sam, Emily and Quil were going after the beach.

The day was great. We had a huge game of volleyball, eight on eight with Carson as the score keeper. Everyone played, even Leah. I've always thought you could tell a lot about a group by what happens when you put them in a schoolyard pick for a sporting game. Sam and Jacob were the Captains. It turned out to be Sam, Emily, Marissa, Seth, Leah, Jared, Kim and Collin against Jacob, me, Tasha, Embry, Quil, Paul, Rachel and Brady. We trounced them. But I will say however, Emily, Kim, Tasha, Rachel and I were absolutely zero help to our team. We just stared at our shirtless guys the whole time. An odd thing I did notice however was that my bracelet Jacob had given me wasn't exactly unique. I mean, mine was the only one that was purple, brown and gold but Emily, Kim, and Rachel all had ones exactly like it with the same weave and everything. I made a mental note to ask Jacob about it later. After the game we had a barbeque, where the guys ate a ridiculous amount of food and the girls and Carson stared in amusement. Sam, Emily and Quil left for the recital soon after that and so did most everyone else, including Tasha and Embry. Together, I might add. Note to self, text Tasha later for the full details. I invited Jacob to come back to my house and he accepted heartily.

When we got back to my house, the twins ran up to their rooms, Marissa to read and Carson to play his Xbox. So it was just Jacob and I, in the same position we were in last night. Sitting on the couch, watching television this time, some old CSI, and wondering who was going to break the ice first. The silence became unbearable. I finally had to say something. That something had been on my mind since our weird meeting in my hospital room a week ago.

"Jacob?" I asked him, finally getting my nerve up.

"Hmmm?" He asked absently. He was currently caressing my bare shoulder with the thumb on the hand that was slung around my shoulder.

"I want to ask you something." I said grabbing the remote and putting the show on pause while turning to him.

"Sure, honey. What is it?" He asked, looking down at me with those big brown eyes.

"Um, that's just it actually. Uh…well, do you like me? I mean, really like me? Not just friend like." I stuttered.

"Of course I do. Why?" He said looking at me intently.

"Well, I was wondering. I mean, am I your girlfriend?" I asked, holding my breath.

"Do you want to be?"

"Do you want me to be?" I countered. He grabbed my hand and interlaced his fingers with his larger ones.

"Yes." He said simply. "I really like you, Ally. I've never met anyone like you. You're different, in all the best ways possible. I would be so lucky to have you as my girlfriend." I smiled. He was so sweet. "But…you never answered my question. Do you want to be?"

"Yeah. I do. I really like you too, Jake. I never really thought I would like someone this much and I'm really glad it's you."

His smile matched mine and that electric current that always seemed to be present between us began acting like a magnet drawing the two of us closer and closer. Secret time: at this point in my life, I had never kissed a boy I legitimately liked. Never been anywhere close. Unless you count Mike callously forcing his tongue in my mouth, but I choose not to count that, or even think about it. But now I was and he was here waiting, making me really self-conscious. What if I was bad at it? I mean, this was Jacob Black. He was gorgeous and had more experience than I did, I was sure about that.

As our lips drew nearer and nearer, the only thing I thought of was some advice my Aunt Rosie had given me about kissing. "Never look your man in the eyes when you're kissin' 'em. It's super creepy and it'll make you a spinster." Pretty much all her advice ended in "it'll make you a spinster." Beside the point, though. I looked down at his lips, they were so ready to kiss me and I had no idea how to do it. Ugh! Okay, well just bite the bullet, I guess.

"I'm gonna kiss you now." Jacob said in almost a whisper as our lips were about an inch from each other.

Better fess up now. "I might be bad at it."

He chuckled, eyes still locked on mine. "Not possible."

He grabbed my chin and tilted it to the side. Our lips pressed together and I willed my mind not to think, just to do. I didn't really know how to kiss him but with Jacob it didn't matter so much how, just that we were doing it was enough. We had a sweet, soft kiss and then I pulled away, not having any idea how to go from there. I didn't really get out much before moving here. Our foreheads met and we just breathed in and out, together for a few minutes.

"I should get home." Jacob said quietly. "I have to help my dad get ready for his fishing trip tomorrow. I'll call you in the morning?"

I smiled and nodded. He gave me another soft peck on the lips and headed out the door.

I went to bed peacefully and happily that night, awakening in the morning to something that made me happier than I had ever been in the morning because everyone that knew me knew, I had never been a morning person. Never. I. Needed. My. Coffee.

_One new text message from Jacob Black_

_**Good Morning, Beautiful ;-) Last night was amazing. I can't wait to repeat it again soon. Call me when you wake up. I kinda, sorta, maybe miss you already**_

I wasn't quite ready to talk yet. I hadn't even had my coffee yet! I formulated a quick reply back.

_**Hey baby! Last night was amazing, wasn't it? I'm going to call you once I'm actually awake but I wanted you to know I kinda, sorta, maybe miss you too ;-)**_

I sent that one and sent an immediate follow up.

_**We sure are sappy aren't we, babe?**_

I got a response a few minutes later.

_One new text message from Jacob Black_

_**Sappy or sweet? Sounds like the same thing to me, honey :-) Have your coffee and enjoy your morning workout, I know that's your plan.**_

He remembered. I don't know when I told him that was my morning routine but it always had been the same: wake up, coffee, yoga and a dance workout. Then, on to the land of the living. I couldn't believe he remembered.

_**You are amazing :-) Talk to you in an hour or so. I have a lot of emotions to work out today ;-)**_

As I put the coffee on the pot, I got the response.  
_One new text message from Jacob Black_

_**I'll be waiting. :-) Don't make it too long or I might have to come find you ;-) **_

"…and don't forget it's your last day to get your tickets for the Homecoming Dance tomorrow night. You can buy them from Mrs. Whitacker in the Student Services center. Also be sure to support our football players and cheerleaders as they join the Forks High team to create the Quileute Valley Warriors and take on the Port Angeles Bulldogs. It's our first year with organized sports so give them some love! See football captain, Marcus Nelson or Cheer Captain, Allyson Chase if you have any questions. Have a great Friday, La Push!"

First period Chemistry had just started and the announcements were a daily ritual. I sat right by Quil and in front of Embry. I felt Embry behind me, quickly rubbing my shoulders in a comforting gesture. "You know we'll all be there tonight."

I laughed nervously. Since I had started school here almost two months earlier, I had seemed to find my groove quite nicely. Cheer Captain with the hottest boyfriend around and tons of great friends. However, that self confidence issue of mine always seemed to creep its way back in. I knew I was a good cheerleader, I mean, compared to the stuff I'd been doing in dance it really wasn't that hard, and it was sure to get me noticed by local colleges but I was always scared of what people would say about me. "You don't have to be…"

"We want to, Ally. Plus, Jake would kill us if we didn't show support to one of our own." Quil said. He was right, that totally sounded like something that boyfriend of mine would say.

"Oh, well, thanks, guys. I really appreciate it." I said smiling.

By lunchtime, I had gotten so many questions about the game that night; I was almost but not quite seriously contemplating suicide. You could tell this school had never had a football team or any other organized sporting endeavor. They were all way too excited.

"Hey guys." I said tiredly, plopping down at our usual lunch table. I hadn't even bothered to get lunch because I was just so worn out so the only people at the table so far were Seth, Brady and Collin.

"Hi, Ally. You look…uh…" Brady started.

"Exhausted." Collin finished his sentence. They were right. I had been so excited last night I barely slept and I was so nervous I just ran through our cheers in my studio. I hadn't even brushed my hair this morning.

I yawned. "Yeah, I'm super tired. I had a crazy amount of insomnia last night. I don't know how I'm supposed to cheer tonight."

"Well," Seth said, "It's only 12:30 right now and the game doesn't start until 7:00pm, why don't you go home and take a nap or something?"

"It's a good idea, Seth, but I don't know if I could sleep even if I wanted to. I'm too nervous for tonight. I don't think anything will calm me down." I yawned again and lay down on my arms. The rest of the group trickled in one by one; Tasha, Quil, Embry and finally, Jacob.

"Hey, Ally. How was your day so far?" He said placing his large amount of food down on the table.

"Ughhhh…." I grunted.

"That good, huh?" Quil chuckled.

"What's the matter, honey?" Jacob said, rubbing my arm.

"I'm sick. Because I'm tired. Because I'm nervous. Ughhhh…." I grunted again, pounding my head against my arms. "Maybe I will go home, Seth. Embry, Tasha will you two get your homework for me?"

"Sure."

"Yeah, feel better, sweetie."

I dragged my body up and grabbed my book bag weakly. Jacob was in a flash right beside me. "Oh, Jake. Um, you don't need to…"

"Don't bother, Ally. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't come with you?" He flashed me his beautiful smile and I was not in the mood to argue and I was so exhausted, I needed his strong arm to help me get to my car. Trouble was it was in the East Lot all the way across campus. I was not looking forward to making that walk all by myself.

Once we got out of the cafeteria and the sight of everyone else. Jacob leaned down in front of me. "Hop on."

"What?" I asked tiredly.

"Hop on; I'll carry you to your car."

"Jake, I wouldn't ask you to do that."

"C'mon, Ally. You are like 100 pounds. I could carry you with one hand."

"125…" I mumbled. My pride said "Hell no," but I was just so tired. I relented and he picked me up with ease. He carried me to the East Lot and stopped by my Jeep.

"Where are the keys, honey?" He asked as he put me down on my feet. I grabbed them out of my bag and Jake snatched them away. "I'm driving, you look like you're going to fall asleep at the wheel."

I nodded. Uh oh, the nausea had set in. About a minute into him driving me home to Forks, I got a huge wave of sickness. "Jake! Stop the car!"

He stopped on the side of the road; I hopped out and began puking my guts out in the gutter. Ugh, very attractive, Ally. Way to get your man to absolutely love you. Jacob came dutifully over and held my hair back for me. When I thought I had finished, another wave hit and then another and another. Finally, when I knew I had finished, I leaned back against Jake.

"I am so sorry, baby." I said, tears running down my face from pure exertion.

He turned to me and put both his hands on my shoulders. "I will never understand girls. Let me get this straight, Ally…are you apologizing for being sick?"

I nodded. Jacob rolled his eyes and put me back in the car. Instead of getting on the freeway a few exits to get to Forks, he turned off on a dirt road and headed to a small house further onto the Reservation.

"My dad's not home. He's on a trip to Hawaii to visit my sister. I'd feel more comfortable if you were somewhere I could keep an eye on you." I nodded weakly. Jacob parked the car and helped me get out and picked me up bridal style. I laid my head on his shoulder. He walked me into the house and placed me on a bed in one of the two bedrooms. I was guessing this was his room. "I'm going to go get you some red Gatorade. It's my favorite. That'll help. Stay right here."

He kissed the top of my head and walked out of the room. His bed smelled terrific. Just like him. Next to his bed was a small table with a picture album placed on it. My curiosity got the better of me. I opened it and saw an abundance of pictures. Him. Him, Rachel and his other sister, Rebecca. He, Quil and Embry. I recognized almost all of the faces in the book except one. A pale, dark haired girl with chocolaty brown eyes and a small smile. She was really pretty, in an abnormal kind of way and I couldn't help but notice the way Jacob looked in the pictures next to her. He was smiling so wide with his arm around here. An ex-girlfriend maybe? I touched the picture with my fingernail.

"Her name is Bella." Jacob said, returning with a large glass of Gatorade. He placed it on the table and scooted in next to me on the bed, placing his arm around me.

"She's pretty." I said, jealousy creeping into my voice. I bet he didn't notice. He did.

"Nothing compared to you, honey." He said, kissing my cheek. I smiled and put the photo album right where I found it. I grabbed the Gatorade and chugged a bit of it down before sighing and scooting as close to Jacob as humanly possible. My head was lying on his chest and he began absently stroking my hair. It felt so heavenly and so perfect.

"Tell me about her." I said, closing my eyes.

"Bella? Oh, well…uh, she was my dad's best friend, Charlie Swan's daughter."

"The Chief of Police?" I asked. I had met Chief Swan once, when I had just moved to Forks, to make sure my restraining order against Mike and my Mom were set up properly. He was a younger looking man, probably in his very early forties with kind eyes and a really nice demeanor.

"Yeah. We knew each other when we were really little and Bella would come up here to visit her dad. Then she moved here my Sophomore year and her Junior year. We were…close."

"Was she your girlfriend?" I asked quietly.

"Not really. Kind of, I guess. She had this boyfriend for about nine months and then he left. Really suddenly. Bella took it really hard and retreated to the Rez. We became best friends and I really thought I was in love with her. But then, her boyfriend came back and Bella went back to him. They just got married. Last thing I heard," he gulped oddly, "she was pregnant."

I looked up at him with wide eyes. "It's like you had a full life before I even got here."

He chuckled and pulled me even closer to him, if that was possible. "Believe me it sounds more dramatic than it really was. Nothing to write a book about, that's for sure."

"When did you last speak with her?" I asked. There was that ugly green monster of jealousy again. He was my boyfriend. I hadn't had a boyfriend before Jacob. But, he'd had one before me. I wasn't a huge fan of that idea.

"I actually went to see her and her husband, Edward, about two months ago. Right after we met." He said honestly. "I had to clear the air. We weren't on the best of terms when they left and I just wanted to make sure we were cool now. That's when I was told that they were expecting a kid. I'm glad I went though."

I stiffened. He continued, "Because it's when I realized I had no more feelings for her, besides those of a best friend."

I looked up at him and smiled. It was one of those perfect moments in time. I decided to say nothing. I didn't want to ruin any part of this perfection. I snuggled up so close to him that my thigh was now between his two legs. Just the mere proximity of him made me feel better, more relaxed and so complete. His right hand massaged my head, which immediately helped alleviate the headache and his left hand, which had been holding on to my hand, let go and inched down my stomach and leg. He grabbed my thigh and gently massaged the back of it. It drove me crazy. I was about to fall asleep, completely peaceful and relaxed. But then he spoke, gently and softly. I wasn't sure if he wanted me to hear him, but I did.

"I love you, Ally."

"I love you too, Jake. So much." I sighed into his chest and nodded off to sleep.

**A/N- I really loved writing this chapter. It was so much fun! Jake and Ally have finally told each other they love the other! Now...on to the big secret right? Hint, hint, hint. Review, review, review please! Seriously, when I get the alert on my phone that ya'll have reviewed I get a hugeeeeeee smile on my face! Love to all of you, Cosmo Girl.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N- Wow! I've had over 530 hits and have visitors to my story from countries I've never even heard of! This is amazing, you guys! Thank you so much! Now...off the the chapter I know alot of you had been waiting for. Just an FYI for sensitive viewers, very small sexual scene in this chapter. But, that's why it's rated M, folks. So I don't get flames for my sexual situations. As always, I only own my characters. Happy reading! **

**Chapter 5**

_Jacob P.O.V. _

I watched her sleep, practically on top of me and again it drove me totally crazy. I wanted more skin to skin contact with her. I wanted her even closer to me than she was right now. It was infuriating, but I wouldn't trade any second of it.

I had accomplished something. I had told her I loved her and she had said it back. That was the first step. Two more to go. I still had to tell her about the whole werewolf thing and tell her she was my imprint. No big deal, right?

I sighed as I drew circles on her head and thigh with my fingers. I was really lucky to have her. I mean, she took the whole Bella thing in stride. Most people would have immediately started freaking out that if their boyfriend still had a picture of another girl. I knew she was jealous. I would be too if she had a picture of someone else, but she was cute jealous. Just envious enough to want to stake me as her territory but not enough for her to want to search Bella out and try to take her on. As much as I would love Ally to fight for me against Bella, there were two things wrong with that scenario. First, that Bella would take her easily. I mean, she was a Vampire now, for God's sake. And Second, I would rather just surrender happily to Ally. Bella would never even have a shot.

Maybe that's what Bella had meant when she had told me those words. Those words I would never forget. "It's going to be him, Jacob. It's always been him." For her, Edward was her imprint. I saw that now that Ally was mine. Because to me, it was her. It would always be her.

Ally stirred on top of me. I looked at the clock. 4:55pm. I grabbed my phone from my bag and shot a quick text to Emily.

_**Hey. I'll pick up the twins today before the game. Ally's still asleep and I know she has to get to practice. **_

It only took a few more minutes for Emily to text me back.

One new text message from Emily Young

_**Sure no prob. I've talked to everyone and most will be there for her big debut. All but Leah, Claire, Collin and Brady. See you tonight :-) **_

It was about 5:30pm before Ally started stirring again. As much as I loved watching her sleep, I figured this time I actually had to wake her up. She had cheer practice at school at 6:15pm.

"Hey, babe. Wake up." I said softly in her ear. Her hazel eyes fluttered open.

"Hi." She said softly.

"Hi, yourself. I'm sorry to wake you, honey, but I know you have practice in 45 minutes." She looked at the clock, sighed and stretched out her arms. She swung her legs off the bed and reached the floor.

"I feel so much better!" She exclaimed stretching all the way up and then all the way down to the floor. I had a very nice view from where I was of her gorgeous, perfectly formed ass. She looked up, saw where I looking and giggled. Then she grabbed her bag and went off to my bathroom. It was a good thing she did, because I seemed to get very excited at that sight. My pants were suddenly feeling much tighter than I remembered. I quickly thought about something else, anything else and massaged my penis back to normal under the blankets.

When she returned, she had changed into her cheerleading outfit, really short and really gorgeous, with a high ponytail and some makeup.

"How do I look?" She asked spinning around. As she spun, I got a peek at that ass again, underneath the skirt.

"Perfect." I said thickly. She smiled wide.

"Good. Do you think it'll give the people what they want?" She teased while laughing. I was not amused. I was sure that it would give the people what they wanted, but I didn't really want her showing off for them. Just for me. "You aren't jealous, are you, babe?"

I knew she was teasing, but she was so asking for it. I wanted her to know how jealous I really was. I was still lounging on the bed, head against the wall. When she came over to grab her purse, I let her grab it right next to me. Then as she tried to walk back to the door, I grabbed her hand and said "Where do you think you are going?"

I grabbed her in a close hug and pulled her on top of me, carrying all of her weight. I knew that she wasn't really great at being the first to show her affection physically, and in all other instances, I wasn't for it either. But she was Ally. My Ally and I couldn't contain how I felt about her anymore. She looked surprised at first but something changed in her eyes. She whispered in my ear, "I love you."

"I love you too, honey." I said surprised. She wiggled out of my grasp and as I was about to sit up sadly, she placed both knees on the side of my hips, both elbows holding up her weight next to my shoulders and her beautiful perky breasts resting on my chest. She stared at my face for a minute before kissing me hard on the mouth.

Hell, yeah! There were fireworks going on in my head. I grabbed the back of her head, possibly a little roughly, but that only seemed to fuel her. Our lips moved as one and I loved the power they had over me. She wiggled as close to me as possible so that her pelvis was on my stomach. I started to get really excited, as did my member. I kissed her with everything I had and teased her lips with my tongue. She opened her mouth a bit wider and allowed my tongue entrance into her mouth as she put hers all along my teeth. I took the other hand that was not around her head and inched it from the back of her knee up higher and higher and higher, almost at the bottom of her short skirt.

"I have to go to practice." She mumbled in my mouth. Damn it!

"Nu uh." I mumbled incoherently.

"Yep." She said, breaking apart our kiss. She sat up so that she was entirely on my stomach. She inched down a little bit more until I was sure she could feel my manhood, very excited and ready to go. She looked at me slyly for a moment and came back on top of me, a little lower this time, so that her mouth was right next to my ear.

"I am so glad that I have that power over you." She whispered as she sucked on my right earlobe. I closed my eyes and couldn't keep from a small moan escaping my mouth. Her leg moved up my inner thigh so that it was almost touching my lonely manhood. Almost but not quite.

"I'll meet you in the car when you're ready." She whispered again, giving me a final kiss and suck on the earlobe. Then she crawled out of my bed and sauntered out the door. Right before she left, she paused at the door.

"Thanks for taking care of me today, Jake. I really appreciate it." She smiled her wide, white smile and walked out the door.

I sighed and put my head in my hands. That beautiful, gorgeous, amazing girl was going to be the death of me. But, oh my God, did I love her.

_Ally P.O.V_

"Ready? Okay! G-O, Go Big Blue! G-O. Let's Go! G-O, Go Big Blue! G-O, Let's Go! G-O, Go Big Blue! G-O, Let's GO! Go, Warriors! Quileute Valley!" I cheered with my team of fourteen other girls: Seven from the Tribal School and eight from Forks High.

"Attention, stadium!" The announcer and Principal of Forks High yelled out right before halftime. "This is an unprecedented event, the starting of our Quileute Valley Football Team and Cheerleading Squad. We've introduced all of the football players before the game and now on to our new cheerleading squad. Freshman: Kenna and Isabel from La Push Tribal and Wendi and Olivia from Forks." Moderate cheers followed and each was given time to do some solo trick. "Sophomores: Riley and Gia from La Push Tribal and Emilia and Penny from Forks." More Cheers as they did a high kick or a split jump when their name was called. "Juniors: Tara and Jasmine from La Push Tribal and Yuliya and Sierra from Forks." More cheers, especially with Yuliya's perfectly executed tuck jump. "and Senior Danielle from Forks!"

Ugh, my turn almost. I had my jump planned out. I was going to do a high kick and fall into a split, come up into a handstand and finish with a back flip to get my feet on the ground. The first part was ambitious but as long as I had that part, I had it in the bag.

"Also! Allow me to introduce your co-captains! Co- Captain and Senior Hailey McCann from Forks High…" Hailey did a few front flips in consecutive order. My competitive side was coming out. I had this in the bag!

"…and, last but not least, from La Push Tribal, Senior, Homecoming Queen and Cheer Captain Allyson Chase!" Huge cheers erupted from the middle section of the bleachers where Sam, Emily, Jared, Kim, Paul, Rachel, Embry, Tasha, Quil, Seth and my Jacob sat. I saw them standing and cheering. I took a deep breath in, and executed my trick perfectly. More cheers. I put my hand to my mouth and blew a kiss to my Jacob. I could see his smile from this far down and smiled back but then turned my attention back to the game.

We lost. I didn't really care that much though. College scouts would come see the cheerleaders no matter how the football team did. What I really cared about was tomorrow. The Homecoming Dance! I was so excited. Tomorrow was going to be my day! First, in the morning, I was going shopping with Emily, Kim, Tasha and Marissa. Then, they were going to help Tasha and I get ready. And after that, Jacob was going to meet me at my house and we'd meet Tasha and Embry at the dance. Neither boy was super excited about going, but Tasha and I, together, had convinced them, so that if either had said no, they would look like terrible boyfriends in front of the other. Tasha and Embry weren't officially dating but they looked just as happy as me and Jacob. I saw the way they looked at each other when they thought no one was looking.

The next morning, I woke up to not just one text, but many.

_One new text from Jacob Black, Emily Young, Kim Connweller and Tasha Wilder_

_**Good morning, beautiful :-) You were amazing last night. I have to work this morning but I'll still be there to pick you up by 6:00. Love you! **_

Working again. He was working a lot with no set schedule. I knew he worked for the Tribal Elders but that was it. He never really talked about it. Just that his friends were all friends because they worked together. Well, Sam, Jared, Paul, Embry, Quil, Leah, Seth, Brady, Collin and him. I knew nothing about what he actually did. It was a little annoying, but I was willing to work with it, of course.

_**No problem, baby. Have a good day at work. I'll miss you and I can't wait to see you tonight. Love you more!**_

Next, the text from Emily.

_**Hey, I am so sorry but I'm feeling a little sick lately and I don't want to infect you. I'm going to have to cancel. Sorry :-(**_

That was terrible! Emily was almost never sick.

_**Awww….feel better, Em! Let me know if you need anything.**_

Ugh, would the texts never end? Next, Kim.

_**Hey, hun! I'm sorry but I'm going to have to cancel today. My parents are taking Jared and me out of town as a surprise. I didn't know about it until right now :-(**_

Weird. Oh well. I guess it would just be me and Tasha today.

_**Oh, that's okay. Have fun and I'll send you pics of the dance and my dress :-)**_

Last but not least, Tasha's text.

_**Did the girls cancel on you too? You're still coming right?**_

Oh, poor Tasha. At least I knew that Emily and Kim had to have something important come up for them to cancel last minute but Tasha didn't know them as well as I did.

_**Yeah, Em is sick and Kim is going out of town but I will be at your house in a few. Gonna drink my coffee and do my workout. **_

I grabbed my coffee cup and made it upstairs to change into my workout clothes when I got the next text.

_**I'm coming over there instead. My dad is on the rampage about the Homecoming Dance existing. Imagine if he knew I was going. **_

I laughed and started my workout. "Hey, Ally?" Carson asked walking in the middle of one of my routines. I pressed pause on the stereo.

"Yeah, Carson?"

"Um…well, Wendla is on the house phone. She says she wants to talk to you, _right now_." Carson said, impersonating Wendla's thick German accent. I laughed.

"Okay, thanks, Carson. Hey, go make you and your sister breakfast, will you?" Carson nodded and walked downstairs.

"Hi, Wendla."

"Hello, Ms. Chase. I have to inform you, I am quitting. Your father just called me and said he is dropping my pay. I've decided to go back to Germany. It is an insult! You be sure to tell your father to go screw himself!" She yelled and hung up the phone. Ugh, what a day so far. Oh, well. We'd been eating at least three meals a week with Sam and Emily anyway. I could manage to cook a few meals. I hoped Dad wasn't screwing over Emily as well. I'd have to ask her about that later, when she wasn't sick.

Tasha showed up a bit later and we went shopping. She picked out a silky, gunmetal colored dress with a sweetheart neckline and spaghetti strapped top. It had a pleated bodice and waist with a silver embellishment. It fit her perfectly and accentuated all of her curves perfectly. It hit right at the knee. She also got a pair of black, wedge sandals with a three and a half inch wedge, ankle strap and flowered ties going up the front. I bought a bright pink, strapless and backless gown, with a sweetheart neckline and a bubble skirt. It had a black belt that came around the waist with a flower in the front. The shoes that I got to match my dress were a T-strap styled sandal with sparkling ornaments and a three inch heel. I wasn't going to lie, we looked pretty fabulous.

A little while later, when we got back to my house and were doing our hair and makeup, Tasha's phone rang.

"I'm going to get that. I'll be one minute and then I'll come back and have you make my hair look awesome." She said. I nodded and as she was leaving, I heard her say, "Hi, Embry!" really excitedly.

A few minutes later, she came back, looking sad and distant. I immediately sat up and put down the magazine I was reading. "What's up?"

"Um, that was Embry. He said his mom is really sick and he has to stay home and take care of her. He's…uh….he's not coming tonight." Tasha said. I could tell the tears were threatening to spill over.

"Oh, Tasha. I'm so sorry." I said coming over to give her a hug.

"It doesn't even matter." Tasha said wiping eyes furiously.

"Yeah, it does. I would be devastated. I totally understand." I said, hugging her tight. Tasha cried on my shoulder. When she was feeling a bit better, she left and I promised to hang out with her tomorrow.

When 5:30pm came, I got a text ringing on my phone.

_One new text message from Jacob Black_

_**Hi, sweetie. I am so sorry, but work is crazy. I won't be able to come get you until 8pm. Do you want to meet at the dance? I'm sorry :-(**_

No. No, I didn't want to meet at the dance. I had been ditched by people all day! I didn't want to be ditched by my boyfriend too! And why wouldn't he call me? Why did he text me?

_**Yeah, okay. Meet me at the back of the gym, by the park?**_

I sighed. I guess I didn't need to get ready as fast as I thought I did.

_One new text message from Jacob Black_

_**Yeah, I'll be there. I promise. I love you, baby. I'm so sorry about this.**_

I decided not to text him back. I didn't want to say something I didn't mean. Because, right now, at this very moment, I was angry.

At 7:45, I left the twins watching _Coraline _by themselves. They were eleven, and I was sure they could take care of themselves for one night. Plus, they had the cell phone numbers of at least ten people who would jump to their aid if they ever needed something.

"Okay, I'm leaving. Have fun," I said giving each a kiss, "Be good and don't answer the door for strangers."

"We will, we will and we won't." Marissa said solemnly.

"Hey, Ally?" Carson said. "You look really nice."

I smiled. "Thank you, guys. I'll be home by the time you wake up."

I drove up to the school and took noticed of how many people were there. Both schools were sharing the same Homecoming Dance and there were a lot of pale people, just like me, a first in my school time here this far. Not that I minded, it was actually oddly comforting. I had never been lonely before here in Forks; I had great friends and a fantastic boyfriend. But, here, right now, I had no friends and no boyfriend to keep me company.

8:00. Where is he?

8:10. Should I go home?

8:15. When is he going to get here?

8:17. I am so cold.

8:27. I'm going home.

"Hi, Ally." Jeremy, the greasy haired boy from a few weeks ago, came up to me. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"I don't know." I said, looking around, everywhere but his face. I would not cry here. I would not cry here.

"Well, do you want to come and dance with me?" He asked. Why shouldn't I? Jacob wasn't here. Why should I care what he'd think? But, I couldn't get his face out of my mind. He'd be so hurt.

"No. Um…I think I'll stay here. Just in case." I mumbled. I felt a few drips of rain on my head and looked up. "Perfect."

I had said that so darkly, so sarcastically that it scared Jeremy off. Good. The rain started coming down harder and harder and I was starting to get drenched to the skin. It was so cold, but I couldn't bring myself to leave. I was just so mad. I wanted to give Jacob a piece of my mind. I was not that girl that could just be left waiting.

"Hey, honey. You look fantastic." I turned and saw Jacob coming in from the park. I had to hand it to him. He looked great too. His white button up shirt was buttoned but not tucked in and his tie wasn't tied. But, he looked amazing all the same. However, I had been out in the cold and the rain. I was drenched and my hair was falling down by my face. I couldn't say anything to him. I was so cold and so mad but he looked so nonchalant, like he'd done nothing wrong.

"You weren't here." I said shaking. I wasn't sure if I was shaking because I was mad or because I was cold but I didn't care. Everyone else had gone inside about now so it was just me and Jacob, standing about twenty feet from each other.

"I know, I'm so sorry." He said, getting closer.

"Don't!" I yelled. "Jacob, you better have the best excuse in the world for not being here and it better have the words death or dying in them!"

"Ally, I'm sorry." He said coming closer. I turned my head away. "Look, baby, I have a good reason. Come with me."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you right now, Jacob!" I shrieked. My voice went up a few octaves but I could care less.

"Allyson! Please."

"Jake, I think I need some time. I'm really mad at you! I mean, you don't tell me anything about your job at all so I don't think it's that important to you, but then you put it before me? On the day that I'm made Homecoming Queen? You know it means nothing to me without you!" I yelled.

"Ally, baby, I will give you all the time you want, I swear but I need to tell you something. Show you something. Please!" He begged. He looked at me with such intensity, such adoration, I knew that as much as I didn't want to, I'd follow him anywhere. It was still pouring and getting colder by the minute, but Jacob was dragging me to the woods behind the school.

We were walking so long, my feet started to ache. Great, not only was I shaking mad and freezing cold but I was also about to break my feet. This day, could not have gone worse. I was like a black hole. I couldn't help it. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we stopped. Jacob backed up and started to talk…a lot.

"Okay, so this is going to sound crazy. Absolutely crazy. But, I want you to hear me out, alright? And know before I start, that I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone or anything in my entire life. So just let me say my piece and then the choice is all up to you." He started. I nodded slowly, not trusting my words because I was so cold.

"So, the Quileute legends say that our tribe is descended from wolves and when an enemy clan comes either on our land, or close to our land, a few of our number have the gene to be phased into a warrior in the shape of a wolf. Well, those legends are true. I know because….well, because I'm a werewolf. Me and my friends, my pack brothers and sister, we all have the gene and we all phase into wolves to protect our land and the people we love on it. I told you it would sound crazy, I didn't believe the legends when I first heard them either but they're true. And, I can prove it. Hold on." He looked at me as if I was about to disappear. "Don't move. Uh….turn around and count to twenty."

I closed my eyes. 1, 2, 3. So this was it then….

4, 5. He was going to abandon me out in the cold, wet woods.

6, 7, 8. Who the fuck would do that?

9, 10. A lunatic. That's who.

11, 12, 13. One crazy, lunatic.

14, 15. That's what I fell in love with…

16, 17, 18. A crazy, lying lunatic.

19. What if I left? Right now? Would he notice?

Too late. 20.

I opened my eyes and looked around. From the corner of my eye, I saw a very familiar pair of gorgeous brown eyes looking down on me. I stared right back into them. The eyes belonged to a huge wolf, who stepped out of the trees at that moment. The first thing I could think of was how beautiful it was. Tall and proud, with a sort of wisdom in its eyes that seemed to seep out. It was a gorgeous russet brown color. He didn't look like he would hurt me, so I stepped closer. So did the wolf. Those eyes, those familiarly beautiful yet somehow tragic looking eyes kept staring at me, like I was drawn to them. Exactly like I was drawn to this place, here, just for those eyes. I'd seen them before though. I'd….loved…..them…..before.

"Jacob?" I asked incredulously. The wolf came closer and closer until it was nudging me, as if telling me I was right. "Oh my God! Jacob?"

The wolf nodded and stepped back through the trees. Twenty seconds later, Jacob, came back out with his clothes back on and began rambling. "So, uh…yeah. That's my big secret. We protect the Reservation. It's how I found you that day of the car accident and it's what we were doing tonight. There was a disturbance with some visitors, well Vampires, actually, from out of town. We had to deal with it then. But everything was okay, it was a Cullen. That's why Emily and Kim had to cancel, though. We have enemies that know about our imprints so they stay inside when there are Vampires loose…"

There were so many words in that rant I didn't understand. I knew I was cold, but I needed all of the information before I could make an informed decision. "Vampires?" I asked shivering.

"Yeah, that's the enemy clan, Vampires. It's what we are born to protect people from."

"Cullen's?"

"The only good Vampires. They don't eat people, they live a vegetarian lifestyle, where they only drink the blood of animals. Bella Swan, my best friend, is now Bella Cullen. Her husband and she as well, are Vampires."

"Imprints?"

"Oh, uh, you caught that, huh? Well, it's when a wolf finds its mate. Their life stops as they knew it and they live only for their imprint. They would do anything for them. Be anything for them. It's their only love. The only love they'll ever have. Like Sam and Emily, Paul and Rachel, Jared and Kim…."

Well, that made my decision for me. Jacob was going to be imprinted soon and then where would I be? No where! Better I get out now. I turned to give my last goodbye to Jacob.

"I can't. Jake, I can't be with you if…if you're going to just…" He hung his head in shame. "If you are just going to fall in love with someone else." I was outright shivering now, uncontrollable shivering from both the cold and the amount of emotional drain.

"Goodbye, Jacob." I turned around and walked away.

"Ally! Ally, wait! I won't fall in love with someone else. I love you, baby!"

I whirled back around. "You love me now! What about when you find your other half? Then what, Jake!" I turned back to walk out of the woods. I started to hear a strangled cry.

"You are my other half, Allyson! You are my imprint. I love you!" I stopped. I was his imprint. Jacob's imprint? He was my other half and I was his? I turned around to see Jacob's hurt face, manly enough to cry.

"Oh God, Jake, I love you too!" I ran, high heels be damned, into his arms. I threw my arms around his neck and legs around his waist. I forgot how warm he was. I squeezed him as tight as I could and it still wasn't tight enough to help stop my trembling.

"Oh, Ally, I love you, I love you, I love you," Jake murmured into my hair. "What would I have done if you left?"

"I won't. I'm so sorry, baby. I was just mad because of how much I love you. I didn't want you to leave me." I shivered in his ear.

"Honey, you are freezing." I nodded. I was really, really cold. I had never been this cold in my entire life.

"Let's get you home." I nodded again. Jacob put me down and I immediately froze up again. We walked back to my jeep where he took the keys out of my purse and started driving. Without him next to me, my shivering did not stop.

"I'm 108 degrees over here, it's a wolf thing." I smiled as best as I could with my blue lips and snuggled up to Jacob but all I could feel were our wet clothes in the way. My dress, though very pretty, seemed to soak up the water, not repel it, making me even colder every second. He parked my Jeep in his driveway and helped me inside.

"J-j-j-j-ake….I'm s-s-s-s-s-s-so c-c-c-c-c…" I trailed off. I couldn't. I was just too freezing.

"You know I love you right?" He said cryptically. I nodded.

"And that I'll never pressure you to do anything, right?" I nodded.

"I think you have hypothermia and the only way to treat hypothermia is to take off your wet clothes to warm up. Survival 101." He said, cheeks reddening. I was way too cold to care.

"Ok-k-k-k-k." I shivered. I was so glad Jacob's dad was still away. This would have been way more embarrassing. Jacob lit a fire in the fireplace in his living room and set out a large sheet on the ground as well as a bunch of blankets to cover up with. All I could think about, though, was the cold. It was starting to hurt my fingers and toes being so cold.

I stood on one side of the room while Jake removed his white button up to reveal his beautifully muscled chest. He then removed his shoes, socks and pants so that the only thing left was a pair of boxer shorts. If I was feeling any better, I would have jumped him right then and there.

"C-c-can y-y-you h-h-help?" I asked motioning at my zipper at the back of my dress. Jacob came over and softly zipped down the dress so I could pull it off. I had left my shoes by the door already. With the dress off, all I was left in was a pink, strapless bra and a pair of matching pink underwear with white polka dots. I stared at him and he stared right back at me. He sat down on the makeshift bed he'd made in front of the fire and I followed him down. Unable to stand being without his heat anymore and not giving a damn how improper it may have been, I attached myself to him in any way possible. Cheek against cheek, arms around each others backs and legs tangled up in each other.

"Oh, you are so warm!" I exclaimed trying to hug him tighter. He took the hint and hugged me tighter as well. I had so many questions to ask about werewolves, vampires, imprints and all of the rest of this supernatural mess but being this close to him, I couldn't formulate any questions. All I could think about was him, how much I wanted to be with him and how excited he made me feel when I was with him. All questions would have to wait for tomorrow, I guess. The only words I could formulate were the only ones that actually mattered. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said emotionally. "Thank you for staying."

I sighed and we fell asleep, in each others arms, for the first and definitely not the last, time.

**A/N- Okay, secrets out of the way...on Jacob's side anyway. Please review! It makes me love you all!-Cosmo Girl**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N- HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! This first bit of the chapter is probably one of the funniest bits I've written. One of my favorites, for sure, so I hope you all enjoy it. Again- Most of the stuff= not mine. FYI**

**Chapter 6**

_Ally P.O.V_

I woke up in the early morning to the light coming through the windows of Jacob's house and Jacob's warm body tangled in mine. It was the best way I'd woken up in awhile. I looked over at the clock. 6:00am. Oh shit! 6:00am! I told the twins I'd be home by the time they woke up! I didn't want to leave Jacob; there was so much I wanted to ask him about the whole wolf thing. Oh well, I guess it'd have to wait. I got up ever so quietly and snuck over to the kitchen counter where I saw a pen and paper. I wrote in my big handwriting.

_**My Jacob,**_

_**I'm so sorry I had to leave but I told the twins that I'd be home by the time they woke up and if I'm not, they'll call the whole Reservation and town of Forks looking for me. I still have some questions to ask you, so come over anytime. I've only been away from you for a few minutes and I miss you already. I love you, handsome and I'll see you soon.**_

_**Yours, **_

_**Ally**_

I folded up the note and put it on the other side of the pillow while I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Mmmm….Ally." He moaned in his sleep. I chuckled and walked over to my dress. It was still soaking wet. I snuck over to Jake's room and grabbed one of his t-shirts and put it on. It fit to almost over my knees. It smelled like him and even though it was old, I would trade almost all of my clothes for just this one tee. I went back to the front room where Jacob was still asleep and grabbed my stuff to go. As I stepped out of the house in my high heels and Jake's tee, I was so glad Jacob lived on a secluded Reservation because I looked like a half-priced hooker. I shut the door behind me, taking one last look at Jake before I did.

Then lightning struck, and hit me in the gut. A car had just parked in the driveway. A Forks Police Car. I looked down at myself. Did someone already see me and get me confused for a prostitute? I saw Chief Swan get out of the front seat and help an elderly looking man out of the passenger's seat. Billy Black. Jacob's dad. Oh, fuck!

"Allyson?" Chief Swan asked, taking a double take at my attire.

"Hello, Chief." I said looking down at the floor.

"What are you doing out here on the Res?" He asked me.

"Oh, that's Jake's new girlfriend." Mr. Black said to both of us. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ally. Jake has spoken of literally nothing else for two months."

I smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, sir."

"Sir? You're old!" Chief Swan said poking at Mr. Black.

"Young enough to take you on!" Mr. Black exclaimed, rolling over in his wheelchair to jam him in the ankles. I giggled.

"Well, I should probably be going." I said awkwardly, still very aware of how I was dressed.

"You'll come to dinner, tonight, right, Ally? I got a mess of fish while I was in Hawaii visiting Jake's sister, Rebecca." Mr. Black said.

"Oh, I don't know…" I stuttered.

"Yeah, I'll be here and so will Sue Clearwater and her two kids, Seth and Leah. Have you met them yet?" Chief Swan asked. I nodded.

"Great, so be here around 5:00pm?" Mr. Black asked.

"Um…well, see I watch my siblings. My dad…he's always away on business, so I'm in charge of them."

"Well, invite them along." Mr. Black replied matter-of-factly. I nodded and smiled.

"I promise I'll be dressed a bit better." I said softly and both men laughed. Then, I ran out of there as fast as possible, hopped in my car and drove away from the awkward situation.

_Jacob P.O.V. _

I woke up in the morning to the smell of bacon and eggs. What a sweet girlfriend I had. My hands as if independent of my body, groped around for my girlfriend. Nothing. I woke up enough to see a letter on the pillow next to mine.

_**My Jacob,**_

_**I'm so sorry I had to leave but I told the twins that I'd be home by the time they woke up and if I'm not, they'll call the whole Reservation and town of Forks looking for me. I still have some questions to ask you, so come over anytime. I've only been away from you for a few minutes and I miss you already. I love you, handsome and I'll see you soon.**_

_**Yours,**_

_**Ally**_

I missed her too and I just woke up. I really had it bad. I sat up, only to see my dad and Charlie in the kitchen making breakfast. If my dad and Charlie were here that meant they probably saw Ally before she left...

"Met your girlfriend today, son." Damn it.

"Oh really?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Yep, real pretty girl. In high heels and one of your old tee-shirts. Good choice, son." Dad teased. I knew he was teasing. I was totally aware of that, but I couldn't help the growl escaping my throat. Dad covered it up with a cough in front of Charlie while I tried to get my emotions under control. I knew my dad well enough to know that he was teasing me to put on a show for Charlie. He didn't really care so much about what Ally and I did. Who cared when you knew that was your soul mate?

I ate breakfast with Charlie and dad and then went off to my room to get my things together. My phone started buzzing as I put my pants on.

_One new text message from Embry Call_

_**Phase. We're having a meeting. Waiting on you.**_

I sighed, took my pants back off and jumped out my window in order to ensure Charlie wasn't watching. Then, I ran out to the woods near my house and phased. Everyone was there waiting.

_Come on, Jacob. We're about another 5 miles in. _Sam said in my head.

I ran to where Sam described and saw all nine other wolves sitting waiting for me.

_Hey, Jake! How'd it go last night?_ Collin asked eagerly.

_Yeah, did she take it well?_ Seth asked excitedly.

_Of course she did! She's a superstar._ Embry added.

_Okay, everyone, that's not why we're here. Though, I'm sure we'll hear about it later. We need to talk about yesterday and the Cullen's that came on our land and why. Leah, Paul and Collin were on patrol. Paul?_ Sam began the meeting.

_Alright, so while patrolling, we smelled a vampire on land. That's when you all got called to start hunting. It turned out to be the Doc…_ Paul started.

_Carlisle._ Seth inserted.

_And the pixie…_Paul began again.

_Alice…._Seth interjected.

_Stop interrupting, Seth! _Leah exclaimed agitated.

_Fine, okay._ Seth sighed. _Go ahead._

_Like I was saying, they came to our land to talk to Sam and Jacob to negotiate new pieces of the treaty. _Paul finished.

_Carlisle would like Bella and the new half-human, half-vampire child to be entered to the treaty._

_Now, all negotiations must be made with the whole pack in mind so we'll take these two new additions into a vote._

_Did you know Edward and Bella's baby is named Renesmee? Oh, and she's Jacob's goddaughter. _

_God, Seth!_ I exclaimed. _That was supposed to be a secret! _I had worked really hard not to think about that around everyone else.

I could practically see Sam roll his eyes. _Bella and….Jacob's goddaughter, Renesmee._

_Jared?_

_Yes._

_Paul?_

_Yes._

_Embry?_

_Yes._

_Jacob?_

_Yes._

_Quil?_

_Yes._

_Leah?_

_No._

_Seth?_

_Yes._

_Brady?_

_Yes._

_Collin?_

_Yes._

_Okay, motion passed. I will speak with the Cullen's. Have a good day everyone._

Free to go. Leah, Collin, Brady and Paul phased back almost instantly. Sam, Jared and Quil left soon after that leaving just me, Embry and Seth.

_So how did it go last night?_ Seth asked me.

_Really well. She knows almost everything and took it really well. But she was really mad about missing Homecoming at first. How did Tasha take not going to Homecoming?_ I asked Embry. He hung his head.

_She hasn't answered my calls since the one I gave her right before phasing to hunt some Vampire._ Embry said sadly. He began talking and complaining about how much he loved her and he just wanted to tell her but my thoughts continually drifted back to Ally and how much I wanted to call her, talk to her, see her, anything.

_Just phase back and call her! God, Jake! Stop dreaming about her._ Seth whined. I smiled, grabbed my cut off jeans in my mouth and ran towards Forks to see my Ally.

_Ally P.O.V. _

"Come on, Ally! Let me practice with you! Please!" Marissa begged as I put out the crash mats in my dance studio. "Carson won't let me play with him in his room but I want to play with someone! Please, Ally!"

"Oh, Mariss, you know I love it when you dance with me but I have some stunt work I have to. Do you want to be my judge? Tell me what I'm doing right and stuff?" She nodded enthusiastically. I smiled to myself at my genius idea to keep my little sister from having a temper tantrum. "…and you can pick my music too. We'll play dance shuffle."

Dance shuffle was a game that Carson and Marissa had created to keep themselves entertained while I danced. They would get full song choice and I'd have to dance to it. It sounded simple, but they'd loved it for years. It was much better to dance here. When we were living with Mom and Mike, I had to dance in the freezing cold basement or in my room. This was way better. Spacious, equipped with a ballet bar and a killer stereo system.

"Okay, I picked one!" She exclaimed. "Get ready!"

I started in a split position and waited for the song to start while Marissa sat on the black stool next to the door with the iPod in hand. By the first note, I knew that it was _Airplanes_ by B.o.B and Hayley Williams. Marissa loved that song. I let the music rush through me while I flipped, kicked and leapt into the air. After that, Marissa picked a quieter song _Fall for You_, by Secondhand Serenade. I actually had a routine banked up in my repertoire for that song. I was so involved in what I was doing and what I was feeling that I didn't notice an extra presence come quietly into the room. I finished and went into my closing pose on the floor and heard clapping. Weird. Marissa was so used to my dancing that she probably wouldn't clap unless there was magic dust coming miraculously out of my hands. I got up and looked for the clapper. Jacob. Shirtless. Hell, yeah!

"Hi, baby!" I squealed as I scrambled up and gave him a huge hug. After the g-rated hug, I looked around to see if Marissa was still there. She wasn't. "No Marissa?"

"Nope. I slipped her a dollar to leave the room for ten minutes." He said smiling.

"Hmmm, ten minutes?" I murmured, stepping closer to him and playing with the hem of his shirt. "What on Earth could a Werewolf and his girlfriend do in ten minutes?"

"I don't know," Jacob said, stepping even closer; so that my head had to be tilted almost all the way back to see his face. "It depends. What does that imprint want to do in ten minutes?"

I smirked at his word choice and got on my tiptoes to kiss him. We inched closer and closer to each other until a bloodcurdling scream emanated from downstairs. Not a playful scream, a real life, honest to goodness terrified scream. It shocked me out of my Jacob induced intoxication. My eyes widened and before I knew it, Jacob had let go of me and had booked it down the stairs a few at a time. I followed after as quickly as my non-supernatural legs would take me. When I made it downstairs, Marissa was rocking back and forth and shaking on the ground, with Carson trying to console her and Jacob trying fervently to ask what was wrong.

"Are you hurt? Marissa, what's the matter? What happened?" Jake kept asking over and over. No response. Not even a look in his direction. Then, all Hell broke loose. The great life that the three of us spent over two months trying to build came crashing down to Earth.

"He found us." Carson told us quietly. I instantly knew exactly what he was saying. The envelope Marissa was clutching in her hand made much more sense. Mike had tried to contact us. He knew where we lived. Oh, fuck. Marissa began bawling and attached herself to Jacob, sobbing inconsolably. Carson came over to me, tears streaming down his face. I gave him a huge hug while Jacob cuddled Marissa to his chest looking at me with questions all over his face. I knew it was odd of me to think this way, but it warmed my heart from the insides out seeing Jacob be so great with Marissa.

"Let's talk about this in the Living Room." I walked with Carson to the room adjoining the entryway while Jacob tenderly picked up my sobbing sister and followed me. I sat down on the couch and put Carson on my lap. Normally, he would have objected, but he wasn't in the mood. Jacob sat next to us and positioned Marissa so that she was leaning on his chest. She had calmed down a bit by now so Jake easily balanced her with his left hand and grabbed my hand with his right. He intertwined our fingers together and immediately I felt stronger. Not nearly as broken inside.

"Guys, do you remember when Dad and Chief Swan were here and they signed that paper saying Mom and Mike couldn't come anywhere near here? That still counts. His letter to us, no matter what it says, changes nothing. Both him or mom aren't allowed in the town on Forks at all." I said calmly to my siblings.

"And he won't get anywhere near the Reservation. The guys and I will make sure of that." Jacob said, brushing the tears off Marissa's cheeks.

"Are you sure?" Carson said quietly with a shudder. "Because he is really sneaky. And fast."

"Yeah, but we're faster." Jake assured him. I smiled. He was right last night; he really was the other half of me. He knew exactly what to say to make my siblings feel better.

"You promise?" Marissa said quietly, looking up at Jacob with tear filled eyes.

"Yeah. I promise." He said, as if making a solemn vow. Maybe he was. I didn't know how this whole werewolf thing worked yet. The twins cuddled with us for a bit longer as we all watched a movie together. It was nice. Like an actually family unit. We hadn't had those growing up and it was oddly comforting.

When Carson and Marissa finally got sick of what we were watching, they left, hand in hand and retreated upstairs. Whenever Mike reentered our lives, the three of us became closer and closer. It made us remember that all we had was each other.

"So, I have questions." I said when Jacob had returned from checking on the twins upstairs a bit later, they were upstairs playing on Carson's X-Box. He smiled and took his place next to me on the couch again with his arm over my shoulders protectively.

"So do I." He said plainly. I hadn't really wanted to talk about the Mike situation anymore than humanly possible in front of my siblings, but it was time to own up to everything, I guessed.

"Okay. Let's do a trade off. You ask one, I ask one. Cool?"

"Perfect. Okay, so why did Marissa cling to me like a life preserver?" I knew he had been curious about that since the incident happened earlier that day. I cleared my throat.

"Well, she kind of looks up to you. I mean, the three of us have never really had any good male role models in our life. Our dad is never around and our step-father, well, I told you the story already. I know it's a lot to take on, being a role model to some kid siblings of your girlfriend but they really love you." I said. He looked at me and gave me a kiss on the head.

"I love them too." He moved over to my ear and whispered, "But not as much as I love their big sister."

I smiled. "Okay, my turn. Was Bella a vampire when you fell in love with her?"

"No. That's a recent development. She was a human, and then after she married Edward, they had a kid together. A half-human, half-vampire baby girl named Renesmee. Having the baby almost killed her though, so she became a vampire after that. How freaked out are you about the whole Werewolves and Vampires thing? Really?"

"I mean, it's weird, right? But, something about it is oddly comforting. I should be freaked, I know I should, but I'm just not. How did you not already imprint. On Bella, I mean. You looked really happy with her in that picture. Why wasn't she your other half?"

"There was a time, I really, really wanted her to be. But she wasn't my other half, she wasn't good for me. We wouldn't have had a two way relationship. It would have always just been me….holding her together like glue, never actually fixing her. Edward and her are perfect together. Just like me and you." I smiled and snuggled into him. "My question. Did Mike ever…no, never mind…" He started. He looked upset. Like what he was going to ask would offend me or something.

"What? Babe, you can ask me anything." I reminded him, staring at his large chocolate eyes.

"Did Mike ever rape you? Or the twins?" He asked quietly, judging my reaction. He wanted a virgin. Of course he did. Perfect. Just perfect. The one thing I wanted to give him, but knew I couldn't.

"Just me…to the best of my knowledge." I said quietly. His hands started shaking; I felt it on my shoulder. He pulled away and stood up. Then he walked a few paces away from me and stood with his back to facing me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to lie to you. I told you on our first date that I was damaged goods. I want….Jake…I…" and here the crying started. Fantastic. "Jake…I just, I want to give you that. I want to give you my virginity. I just can't. I don't have that to give. I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad at me."

He looked back at me with the pain I was feeling etched all over his face. "Oh, honey, I'm not mad at you. I told you that first date of ours, I can never be mad at you. The shaking is a werewolf thing. When I get too angry, I'm in danger of phasing. I didn't want you to be too close if I did. You know the scars on Emily's face? Those are from Sam phasing too close to her."

"Why are you angry?" I asked innocently. I didn't get it. He just said he wasn't mad at me.

"I'm angry that you had to go through this already. I'm angry that I already failed!" He yelled.

"Failed what, babe?" I asked, trying to grasp at straws.

"Failed at protecting you! Protecting my imprint. It's my job and my responsibility. I love you and I already failed." He said and I really thought he was going to cry. I got up from my seat on the couch.

"I didn't know you then, Jake. It's not your fault." I said, rubbing his shoulder. He shrugged my hand off. He was facing away from me, probably too emotional for his pride, but God knows I'd cried like 40 times in this relationship already. He could have a turn if he wanted.

"Baby, don't push me away." I said emotionally. "Look at me."

He turned around, face tormented, like he was fighting an internal battle. He probably was. Human practicalities versus wolf instincts. "I love you. That's all that matters, right?"

He grabbed me around the middle and hugged me as hard as I ever remember anyone hugging me before, burrowing his head in my hair. "I will never let anyone besides me touch you in that way, ever again. Ever. You're my imprint."

I decided to indulge his wolf like instinct. There was no reason to get all feminist on him now. My feet were dangling off the ground so I wrapped them around his waist to get even closer and whispered into his shaking body while wrapping my arms through his hair.

It took all of both of our self control not to rip off each others clothing and be together in every way possible, but we couldn't. Not with the twins upstairs. We gave each other a meaningful look. He knew what I wanted to do, and I knew what he wanted to do….but we made a mental note for a better time and place. If only that time was right now and the place was right here….

Jacob and I spoke for the entire afternoon about my messed up familial situation and his werewolf-ness. I told him about my dad's abandonment and how he showed up once a month, like clockwork, for a few hours each time, with money and presents in tow, just to buy our affections. We spoke about how my mother cheated on my dad with Mike and then proceeded to let him handle the child raising. Then the hard one, how Mike's version of child raising was filled with abuse and molestation and how I ran away, two months ago, on eight different buses, since I didn't have a car yet. Jake sat patiently through the whole thing, but every time I got to a part he didn't like, he held me closer and closer.

After I was done, Jacob took his turn. He told me all about his mom's death and his sister's leaving as soon as they turned eighteen. Then the long story of how his life changed when Bella moved into the area. I was a bit surprised at the attachment I felt in him whenever he spoke of Bella. He talked about her with such adoration, I couldn't help but get jealous and I think he knew that, and liked it. He spoke of the love she had for her vampire boyfriend, or mate, as he called it. Jacob said he tried and tried to break them up, but to no avail. She married him in a small ceremony and though Jake was invited, he didn't go. He was still really hung up on her at that point.

"….but then, this beautiful brunette stranger came waltzing into my life." Jacob teased, playing with my hair.

"Oh, really?" I teased him back with a false curiosity in my voice.

"Yep, just as I was trying to figure out where to run away to next, I realized I was done running." He said quietly. I smiled. He continued on to tell me about how the still human Bella got knocked up by her vampire man, a little creepy, but who was I to judge? If I was going to get knocked up it would be by a werewolf.

"And then, when I went to see them to clear the air, after I imprinted on you, Bella and Edward asked me to be godfather to their baby. Renesmee Carlie Cullen was born a few weeks later. She's adorable. Do you want to see a picture? Bella sent it to me just yesterday." I nodded enthusiastically. There was absolutely no reason to be jealous of Bella. I mean, she was a married woman with a baby, for God's sake! Actually, I was more than a little interested in becoming friends with her. Note to self: maybe I should write her a letter at some point. Jake said she was living with the entire Cullen family in Alaska. Maybe, I could even call her…

He pulled out his wallet and behind his driver's license and ATM card was a picture of an about six month old baby. But that didn't make any sense; I thought the baby was born a month ago? I told my concern to Jacob and he laughed. He said something about it being a vampire thing. Ugh, so much supernatural shit I was going to be expected to know as the imprint of a werewolf.

Jacob left my house a little while later to help set up his house for the dinner that night. It was going to be quite the affair with Jacob and his dad; his sister Rachel and Paul; me, Marissa and Carson; Seth, Leah and Sue Clearwater and Chief Swan himself all in attendance. Jacob had to warn me that apparently Marissa and Carson weren't the only ones that were completely unaware about the supernatural side of things; Chief Swan had no idea either…about anything. All he knew was that a very human Bella and a very human Edward were married and going to school at the University of Alaska- Anchorage. He knew nothing about being a vampire or an abnormally grown up one month old baby and everyone planned to keep it that way. As I was told, the secret was way too important.

As soon as Jacob had left and I was sure that the kids were in their rooms, I pulled out the crumpled letter I had pried from Marissa's hands a few hours before. I had done a very good job of distracting everyone so that I could read the letter by myself at just the right moment. I guess now was as good a time as any. I ripped open the paper and pulled out the handwritten letter inside.

_**Dear Al,**_ God, I always hated how he insisted on calling me that ugly name.

_**I appreciated the going away present you and your siblings insisted on giving me. A few cops strolling up to the house, handcuffing me and arresting me in front of all my friends and neighbors? Very classy. I was willing to let you go, you know I didn't give a fuck about you three as long as your bitch of a mother was drunk and easy to fool around with, but not anymore. I'll find you, Allyson. I'll find you and I'll kill you. And no one will mind…because you were always a too skinny, too ugly bitch who could never get anyone to love you. Not even your own fucking parents care about you at all. Your mom only noticed that Carson wasn't there when no one poured her cup of coffee the morning after you left and I know that your dad has only been there twice since you three began mooching off of him. I've been keeping tabs on you, Al. I know what you do and I know where you are and when you least expect it, when you think you are safe, I'll come for you and I'll kill the twins slowly while you sit and watch. Then, I'll kill you next, but of course, not after I have my fun. How dare you try and hold me in prison? You knew it wouldn't stick without evidence. You wanted me to come find you and have sex with you again. It was probably the highlight of your no good life. I know it was the best sexual experience of mine. **_

_**Until we meet again, Al**_

_**Mike **_

I guess it was just as bad as I figured it would be. I thought maybe, that he had changed. Maybe, that cop incident would have shown him the error of his ways. But, of course, it didn't. It was the same Mike, if not meaner this time around and quite a bit crueler. One thing was for sure true though…Jacob could never, ever know about this.

**A/N- This is my daily reminder to please review! It gives me inspiration to keep going! Love to you, wherever you are- Cosmo Girl**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N- Thanks for sticking around everyone! I'm back! Enjoy this two for one sale on chapters! WARNING- The ending scene may not be suitable for all readers. It's a bit lemony. FYI. Also, I only own what you don't recognize from cannon.**

Chapter 7

_Jacob P.O.V._

"Come on, Jake! Let us play! Please?" Marissa begged with Carson in tow.

"Yeah, we won't be any trouble! Promise!" Carson exclaimed following Paul and I out to the front yard where we had set up my old basketball hoop to play some two on two, werewolf style with Paul, Seth and Leah.

"What's Ally doing?" Paul asked them, hoping to deter their hopeful stares.

"Helping Rachel and the adults in the kitchen," Carson complained. "If we go back in there, she's going to make us do stuff! Like dishes and stuff!"

Ally poked her head out, "Are you two coming back?"

They looked at Paul and me with these identical, pitiful pouts and we just couldn't say no. It was just as impossible as disobeying an alpha's order. They were just too cute.

"Do you need them, Ally? We invited them to play with us." I asked her. The twins looked at me brightly with hopeful grins on their faces.

"No. I just wanted to make sure that they weren't underfoot. Have fun! And be good!" She yelled back.

"We will, Ally!" They said together with those grins. Those identical, adorable grins. When Seth and Leah came out we unanimously let Paul and Leah be captains, that way they wouldn't bitch about being on the same team and would be able to pick their own teams. Paul, Marissa and I played against Leah, Carson and Seth. Of course, we took them easily but had worked up a pretty great appetite. When we came back inside, I saw that everyone had moved to the backyard to eat and do some barbequing. Our small house wasn't big enough to accommodate all eleven guests. Hell, it was barely even big enough to accommodate me and my Dad. The only person still inside was Ally, in the kitchen, making some salad or something. Everyone else from the game went outside to sit and eat while I lagged behind. I snuck my way behind her and wrapped my arms around her stomach. She giggled underneath my hands.

"Jake, what are you doing?" She whispered. Even her whisper sounded so sexy coming from that adorable mouth. I looked around in my peripheral vision to make sure no one was watching and then leaned her back even farther against my chest and kissed her cheek. Then next to her ear…and finally, her sweet, soft neck, adorably smelling like pomegranates. She quietly moaned and melted even farther into my embrace, which only fueled the fire I had inside. Not just the fire inside me but the electric current pulsating under my skin made me want her more and more. She leaned her head over to the other side so that I got a clear spot to devour and then began massaging my sore thigh muscles. It felt unbelievably good.

"I have to get this salad out, baby." She said quietly a moment later. I mumbled an almost incoherent "uh uh…" and continued kissing my imprint. She giggled.

"They're going to be wondering what we're doing in here." She said again.

"They already know…" I said, still kissing her. I was not planning on stopping anytime soon. She pulled away. I looked at her with a pout on my face, hoping it was irresistible enough for her. I thought I had a good chance.

"Nope. You'll just have to wait…" she started, walking away. Then she looked around quick to see if anyone could see us, they couldn't as we were hidden by the kitchen door, and came back quickly. She pressed herself against me and lifted her right leg so that it was around my back and her bare foot was crawling ever too slowly up the inside of my thighs while both of her hands went in different directions. They both started at the hem of my shirt but one began tracing circles on my stomach and the other went inching ever so slightly down my jeans. I'd be marveling at the balancing act she was performing if I wasn't so unbelievably turned on. I was also shocked. If I was in my right mind, I would have literally shown her exactly where I wanted her hands to massage but I wasn't thinking, I was just feeling and it all felt unbelievable.

"…until…" small kiss on my lips, "…we…" small kiss again, "…won't…" again, "…be…" another one, "…interrupted." Then she kissed me senseless, tongue and all before giving my manhood a slight touch from where her hand had invaded my jeans. Then she let go, pulled her hands and leg out from where they had made a residence and stepped back.

"You might not want to follow me out, just yet." She said with a sexy smirk, obviously referring to the bulge she had created in my jeans. I was still so shocked at her sudden burst of sexuality, I didn't say anything. She took that as a good sign, which it was, and walked away with an extra bounce in her step so that I could see every curve of hers as she moved.

"Salad's ready!" She announced happily as she walked outside. That girl was going to be the death of me. I had never, ever in my life, felt the feelings I had felt whenever I was around her. They enticed me and tortured me, all at the same glorious time. It was amazing.

_Ally P.O.V._

"Is it Christmas break, yet?" Tasha asked me as she walked into my house early one Friday evening in December. Everyone in the group had free range of my house and they all knew it. Tasha waltzed in, backpack in hand, dropped it down on the ground in the kitchen and collapsed onto a chair.

"Bad day?" I asked her. Tasha had joined an after school study group for the kids looking for science scholarships a few weeks ago and had so much homework to complete she had time for literally nothing else. The only times I ever saw her was when she came to my house to do her homework. Her very strict parents didn't believe in leaving the state for college, let alone going to a controversial school like UC Berkeley, which was where Tasha had her heart set on going. So, all things having to do with college were done at my house. Today, however, was no ordinary day. Today was application day. Tasha and I were going to hammer out our three college applications today: A hopeful, a probable and a safety. My choices were New York University, University of Louisville and Brigham Young University, for their dance and theater programs. Their scouts had already seen me during cheer season and had already contacted me. Tasha was applying to UC Berkeley, Yale and Stanford to go into pre-med.

"The worst!" Tasha exclaimed. "Embry keeps calling! I told him that we needed to take a break while I dealt with all this college stuff but He. Is. Not. Listening!"

"That's because he likes you." I reminded her. Embry and Tasha had patched things up since the whole Homecoming incident, but even after four months, Tasha was still keeping him at arms length. I didn't know how Embry and Tasha were both staying sane. If I didn't speak to Jacob at least once a day, we both went a little crazy. I knew they were imprinted too, just like us. Maybe it was different since Tasha didn't know she was imprinted.

"I know he likes me, Ally!" She said exasperatedly. "I like him too, okay? But, I'm just leaving in a few months for college anyway? Why get into a relationship? I know he's staying here."

That was true. Both Jacob and Embry had made it clear that they were planning on staying in the area. Of course, I knew why. All Tasha thought was that Embry didn't want to live up to his potential, which was totally untrue.

"Just because he's staying here, doesn't mean a relationship can't work. I mean, I don't plan on breaking up with Jake, no matter if I'm moving to New York, Kentucky or Utah. It could be the same with you and Embry….if you wanted it to be." I told her calmly, while I wrote my basic information of the University of Louisville application.

"Ally. I do want it to work….but how do I know he does?" Suddenly, as if an answer to my question, Tasha's phone began vibrating.

"I think that's your answer, hun." I said, a small smile teasing at my lips. She looked at me, smiled and then got up to answer the phone call.

"Ally!" Marissa asked, running into the room. "Ally! ?"

I stared at my incoherent sister in shock. "What?" I asked completely confused.

She took a deep breath and started again. "That really cute guy I was telling you about, Finn Moreno? He's having a girl/ boy party next Friday after school and he invited me to go! Can I go?"

"Is Carson going?" I asked. I didn't really like this arrangement. I mean, she was only eleven. Even though she was almost twelve, I still wasn't sure about this.

"No. He wasn't invited. Finn said he only invited the cool kids." A wedge had come between my siblings over the last few weeks. Marissa had gotten herself involved in the "cool kids" group while Carson and his friends spent more time in the Library than they did outside playing. That was another thing making me like this boy/ girl party even less.

"I don't know, Marissa. I mean, you're only eleven…"

"Almost twelve!"

"Yes, almost twelve, but still, I never went to a boy/ girl party until I was fourteen." I said.

"Yeah but that wasn't your choice! Those were mom's stupid rules." She retorted. She was right. Mom tried her best to not let me hang out with other people with hopes that no one would ever know about her abysmal husband. But, I needed to stay strong here, right? I couldn't just let her go off to a boy/ girl party. Not at her age.

"I know. But, the answer is no, Marissa. I'm sorry." I said to her. I really was sorry. She didn't buy it.

"What? Just because you already have a boyfriend doesn't mean that you can make it so everyone else doesn't have any fun!" Marissa exclaimed. Well, that was a bit unreasonable.

"That's not it at all, Marissa! I just want to make sure you're safe, that's all! You're too young to go!" I exclaimed back.

"No! That's not true! You're trying to be my mom!" Marissa shouted.

"I might as well be!" I exclaimed. "I sign all of your papers, I do your homework with you and I stay home when you and Carson are sick! Marissa, I'm all you guys have!"

"Well, we didn't ask you to be!" Marissa shrieked.

"Marissa! Go to your room!" I cried, putting on my best parenting voice.

"I hate you!" She yelled as she stomped up to her room loudly complaining the entire way. I rolled my eyes and scowled as I pulled the cookies I was baking for the four of us out of the oven. Tasha walked back into the room slowly.

"Is everything alright in here?" Tasha asked hesitantly. I sighed.

"Yep, just dandy. Instead of living with two kid siblings, I'm living with two teenage siblings. Perfect." I said exasperatedly. Life was never going to get boring around here was it?

Marissa had calmed down and skipped the party, just as I had asked her to. To make it up to her, I decided to throw a Christmas party, for all of our friends and family. It was a perfect way to thank them for all they'd done for us over the past four months we'd lived here. My dad even said that he and his new girlfriend were going to try and come. The house was going to be packed! Almost everyone was coming on Christmas Eve: Sam, Emily, Jared, Kim, Paul, Rachel, Embry, Tasha, Jacob, Quil, Claire, Claire's seven year old sister Camille, Leah, Seth, Brady, Collin, Mr. Black, Chief Swan, Mrs. Clearwater, my Dad, his girlfriend Siena, Marissa, Carson, our aunt Beth and uncle Carl and their kids Luke and Gianna from Texas and myself.

"Ally! Can we take the cookies out, yet?" Carson complained from his seat. All eight children had come early to help frost the delicious butter cookies. A Chase family tradition. So it was just me, my Aunt Beth and Uncle Carl watching six prepubescent children frost cookies to their heart's desire. No big deal, right? Our cousin Luke was the oldest at thirteen years old. Then Marissa, Carson after that was our cousin Gianna who was nine years old, Cami Young who was seven and little Claire Young who was three. Emily and Sam had dropped off Cami and Claire an hour or so ago to get themselves ready for the party in peace.

"Sure, Carson. Here's the next batch." I pulled out the next batch of cookies and placed them on the table. Twelve hands came rushing toward the plate. I laughed and left them to their decorating while I went to sit with my Aunt and Uncle. Since I told them about the party over the phone, two weeks ago, they had told me over and over that they had something to ask me and Dad tonight but hadn't told me what yet. I guessed now was as good a time as any.

"They sure love those cookies, don't they?" Uncle Carl said chuckling as we watched Cami try desperately to paint her cookie all pink.

"Oh, yes. It's a Chase family tradition. I remember decorating those cookies when it was just me and dad and Aunt Beth. Then, you and Luke, Marissa and Carson and Gianna. I'm glad we could share it with the Young girls this year." I said to Uncle Carl smiling. Aunt Beth laughed fondly.

"So, we wanted to speak to you about something really important." Aunt Beth started, sitting up in her chair. "This last semester, we've been sending Luke and Gianna to prep school in Northern California. Well, they have been doing so well and they really love it there."

"We want to have Marissa and Carson come and live with us. Then we will pay for their schooling at the same place where Luke and Gianna go." I froze. My life as I knew it had halted. They wanted to take them away from me? They wanted to take my siblings away? Why? I had been doing so well with them. I mean, they were getting almost straight A's. They had friends and an extended family that loved and cared about them and had adopted all of us into their group. Memories came rushing back to me of the last few months: Sam, Emily and Marissa planting a garden in the backyard; Jared, Kim and Marissa shopping at the mall together and seeing her come home with bags and bags of new clothes Kim had picked out. Paul and Rachel teaching Carson how to cliff-dive, from low down of course. So many wonderful memories of the whole pack and all the imprints. So many times that my Jacob had taken them….my throat constricted and tears welled up in my eyes.

"It's not that we don't think they are doing a fantastic job with them. They are so well-adjusted, especially after what happened to the three of you, but, we just think that their chances of getting into college would be so much better in a preparatory school." I was still frozen entirely.

"And, then they would be at school with their cousins and would make new friends. And you could feel free to go to college wherever you want. Your dad has told us you've had offers from some colleges." That pulled me out of my trance. What was I going to do with them when I was at school? I couldn't very well leave them here, with dad home twice a month. I knew Jacob and the whole pack would do their best to keep their eyes on them but, I couldn't ask them to do that. They were my responsibility. Or were they? For all my teenage years, I'd been their mom and dad and sister. Was that what was best for them? Maybe, I should just be their sister? This certainly was a way to do that, I guess.

"When would they leave?" I asked quietly. My Aunt and Uncle's faces lit up.

"We would take them home with us at the end of this visit."

"That soon, huh?" They nodded. They'd be leaving in three days. I told them that I would think about it, talk to the twins and get back to them tomorrow evening. They said that would be fine and we ended the conversation. However, just because it had ended in physical form does not mean that I wasn't still thinking and processing this new information, all the time.

The party started a few hours later. The children's frosting colored cookies were sprawled out on counters and absolutely delicious. Since my house was so large, there was enough room for different things to be happening in each portion of the house. Some people, including most of the pack, were playing X-Box in the Rec. room, most of the adults were chatting in the dining room and the children were all upstairs. It was a completely lovely party, and there were only a few little incidents. Both of which Paul and Jared apologized profusely for and cleaned up the kitchen afterward…so it was a win/win for me. However, the whole time, I couldn't stop thinking about my Aunt and Uncle's offer. I just felt so off. Like I wasn't living my life because I was so stuck in my own head thinking.

At one point during the night, I went out to the garage to get some more sodas. Jacob followed me out there. He snuck behind me and put his hands over my eyes. I knew it was him, but I didn't want him to know how conflicted I was inside, so I decided to go through the motions anyway. He whispered in my ear. "Guess who?"

I reached up and felt for his hands. When I found them, I began stroking them with my fingernails, because I knew how much that drove him crazy. "Hmmm…is that you Embry?"

He growled and put his lips to my throat and began sucking on it tenderly. "Oh, Embry never did this….hmmm, must be Jared. Kim is going to be so pissed."

He growled even harder. The sucking on my neck began to be more furious as he grazed his teeth against my flesh. I tried to keep my head straight to tease him a bit more but I couldn't. I let myself go entirely; all thoughts completely abandoned and went with what I was feeling. I moaned at his touch but that fueled him even more. I could practically feel him smile as he ate my neck. He put his arms around my middle tightly. I put my hands on top of his arms and graced my fingers back and forth from his elbow to his fingers and back again.

"Baby?" I asked cautiously. He grunted. "What are you going to do? When I go to college, I mean? Do we….um, do we break up?"

He immediately stopped kissing my neck and turned me around so that I was looking straight at him. He looked heartbroken already. "Ally. Do you want to break up?"

"No! No, I was just making sure…I mean, what if I go to school in Kentucky or New York? We'll never really see each other. You might find some other girl…" I started tilting my head down. "Maybe, you'll find some girl who sticks around, you know?"

"Ally!" He exclaimed but immediately his voice softened, "You adorable little dork. I told you how this imprinting thing works. I can't love anyone else. I don't want to love anyone else. My only fear is that at whatever fancy college you end up going to, you'll find some attractive dancer prick and fall in love with them."

I giggled and shook my head. "That's not going to happen. I think that silly imprinting thing of yours works both ways."

"Oh, you do, do you?" Jacob said happily pulling me even closer to him. I smiled.

"Yep. I do."

"Oh, really?" He said as he grabbed me into a nice, passionate kiss. Yep, I was going to be okay and whatever my siblings decided, I would be here, with Jake, where I should be.

The party ended at around eleven o'clock. The only people remaining were me, Marissa, Carson, Aunt Beth, Uncle Carl, Luke, Gianna, Jacob, Dad and his girlfriend Siena who I had met today. Siena Watson was my father's secretary, originally from London. She had a beautiful accent, dark hair, blue eyes and was twenty-four. Twenty-four! My father was almost forty! The age difference between me and the twins was the same as the one between me and Siena. Ugh, it was a bit sickening. The other thing that was a bit sickening was having all ten of us in the same room. It was uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. Even when Marissa, Carson, Luke and Gianna went up to bed, it only got worse.

"So, have you talked to the twins, yet?" Aunt Beth asked me. We were sitting in an odd arrangement in the Living Room. Aunt Beth was sitting next to Uncle Carl on one couch. Then, Dad and Siena on the other couch. Next to them on the recliner chair was Jacob and I was sitting on the side of the chair with my legs on his lap. Dad looked a bit oddly at this but I didn't care.

"No. Not yet." I said quietly.

"I agree with their idea, Allyson." Dad told me and I immediately tensed up. Must we talk about this now? Jacob sensed my tension and rubbed his hand on my leg in a comforting gesture. Of course he agreed with their idea. I was almost eighteen and thus almost an adult. With the twins not here, he would have no reason to stick around. "I mean, Siena and I are planning to marry soon. She'd like us to move back to her hometown, in London."

I closed my eyes and bit my tongue. I stole a small glance at Jacob and he was staring thoughtfully at my dad. Like he was trying to figure out what this guy's angle was.

"I'll talk to them, dad. But, if they don't want to go, I'm not going to make them." I said quietly.

"Well, Allyson, there's more I want you to consider. I want you to finish out the rest of your school year at the same prep school the twins will be at. I'm selling the house to move to London." I sighed. Here it was. That was why Siena and Dad made the trip together. They were moving to London and wanted to get rid of the kids before it happened. Boarding school was the perfect option for them. I looked at Siena's face as she nodded along with my father's request. She didn't want to be a mother. She wanted to marry rich and be a trophy wife, not a nanny. I felt like a flightless bird, stuck somewhere I didn't want to be.

I looked at my Jacob's face and thought of the conversation we had earlier. He looked like he was holding his breath, waiting for a blow to hit him in the stomach. A blow that never came. "I'm not going."

"What?" Dad said in a dangerously calm voice. I knew what happened when he got like this. He was mad. He always wanted everything to go his way and currently, I was not fitting into the plan he had set.

"I'm not going. I've been doing really well in school here, I have straight A's. There are scouts from NYU, UofK and BYU visiting me later this year to see me dance. I have friends. I have a…" I stared everywhere but Jacob's face, "…a boyfriend. I'm not leaving."

"You're not leaving because of a boyfriend? Ally, there will be other boys!" He said exasperatedly.

"Right in front of Jacob, Dad? Really?" I shouted. No more "nice daughter". "I'm not leaving and that's final!"

"You are jeopardizing your future, for a boy you've known for a few months?"

"I learned from the best, Dad! You're the one leaving the country for a girl you've known for a few months!" I retorted. Then Siena, saying the first thing she had said all night responded.

"Just let her stay, Cayden." She said in her sickeningly sweet British accent throwing a wink my way. "She's almost 18. Wire her a small allowance every month and let her stay here, with her beau."

Dad seemed to mull it over as I mouthed a "thank you" to Siena. Maybe we were going to end up being friends after all.

The twins were much happier to go than I thought they would be (which I had to say, kind of hurt) and in a few days, when Uncle Carl, Aunt Beth, Luke and Gianna left for Texas, Marissa and Carson were with them. Dad had already signed away his parental rights to Aunt Beth and Uncle Carl, and Siena and he had left a few days before. When the car pulled out of the driveway, with the twins inside, I cried. I cried and cried and cried. I cried my tears for Marissa and Carson, since I knew I wouldn't see them for a long time. I cried my tears for my Dad knowing that I most likely would only hear from him when Siena insisted he put money in my bank account every month. But, most of all I cried my tears for me, because at this point, I still didn't know where I was going to live. I had to be out of this house by the time school started again, which was next week.

Jacob stayed there with me, all day, and dried my tears while he let me watch whatever movies I wanted and didn't fight for the remote control. I stayed in my sweatpants and tank top, with my hair back in a messy ponytail and I didn't care in the least bit. After a few hours of watching _The Heathers_, _Clueless_ and _Mean Girls_, I started to fall asleep. Jacob moved my head to his lap and ran his fingers through my hair.

"Hey Ally?" He asked.

I muttered a small "Uh, huh?"

"Well, I already talked to my Dad about this and he says its fine with him but, I want you to move in with me on the Rez." He said softly. That woke me up. I opened my eyes and got up to look at him.

"Really?" I asked happily. I had been hoping this would happen, but ever the lady, I wouldn't have asked. I did have a few concerns though.

"Really. I couldn't have my imprint out on the street, could I?" He said jokingly. But what he didn't know was that he had hit one of my biggest concerns.

"I don't want you to do this just because you feel like you have to, Jake." I said seriously. I didn't want him to be doing this out of some moronic wolf-like need. It was a big step. I wanted him to do it because he wanted to.

"I want to, Ally. I want you to live with me." He said looking into my eyes. I nodded. He grinned and pulled me into a large kiss. "My dad does have a few rules though."

He said this quietly, like he was scared that I would say no. "Anything."

He smiled and gave me a quick kiss. "Well, you'd have to share a room with Rachel."

I laughed and got up on my knees to get closer to my Jacob. "You mean, we won't be able to sleep in the same room?"

"Oh…I…uh, well…." He stuttered.

"What a shame. I was hoping to sleep next to you every night." I said softly as close to his face as I could.

"Well, we still probably can. I mean, Rachel is almost never home. She's usually at Paul and Jared's apartment. I could sneak into your room at night." He said staring into my eyes. I stared right back into his.

"And, maybe I could sneak into your room, too?" I said. He smiled.

"Yeah, that might work too." I grinned at his boyish smile and my heart ached for his affection.

Instead of leaning back where I was, I leaned forward and hugged him tight, cheek to cheek. Just when he started to pull away, I moved my lips downward to kiss his neck. He had done it so skillfully, so many times to me that I decided to reciprocate. He smelled so good, like woods and forest. I felt a growl rise up in his throat as he pulled me even closer. I was surprised at the fact that it really did fuel me. I practically crawled on top of him and I felt his large hands snake up my shirt and onto my bare back. I grinned and moved my mouth from his neck to his lips where I kissed him passionately. He followed my lead and kissed me back just as furiously as I had kissed him.

I got up quickly and smiled, motioning for him to follow me. There was no way that I was going to fool around with Jacob for the first time on my couch. I went up the stairs quickly to my room knowing I only had a few moments before he followed me.

"Hey. Were you running away?" He teased with his voice thick as he shut the door with his foot. I nodded slyly.

"I was just waiting for you to come find me." I said invitingly. He smirked and joined me on the bed. I recreated the position we were in before. He was laying down on his side and me with both knees on the side of his body kissing him furiously. A few moments into our make out session, my arms, which were pressing against his shoulders and holding my entire weight, started to get tired and began fidgeting. Jacob grabbed my wrists and in one quick movement moved us so that I was on my back and he was on top of me.

He lay down and kissed my neck hungrily. During this moment of passion, I had a choice to make. Go as far as I could with my Jacob, with my imprint or stop it here at this point. I really couldn't decide.

"Mmmm….Ally. I love you." He growled quietly in my ear. I sighed. Okay, choice made. I loved this guy. I loved him more than I had literally loved anyone in my life and I wanted to be with him as close as possible.

"I love you too, baby." I said quietly and I snaked my hands up his shirt to feel his ridiculously toned muscles. He shivered underneath my touch and began moving his large tan hands from my hips to the hem of my shirt, but he didn't move from there. I wasn't sure if he was asking for permission or teasing me. Either way, it was making me so ready, so wet, and just waiting for him. He looked up from my neck, where he had taken up residence and stared into my eyes.

I was sure I looked a mess. My hair was no longer brushed as well as it was, my lips were probably swollen and my mascara was smeared. Fabulous. This was exactly how I wanted to look while kissing my love. Jacob was still staring at me. To say I had just started to feel a little self-conscious was an understatement. "What?"

"You are so beautiful." Jacob said brushing my cheek with his hand. I smiled and put my hands on the hem of his shirt, pulling it up higher and higher until it was completely off his head. He smirked and lifted me up to pull my tank top off of me. Then he pushed our bodies together and the skin to skin contact was amazing. That electric current was back; the one that appeared every time we touched. He laid me back down on my back and climbed on top of me again. For some reason, the electric current had given me an increased level of self-confidence. I wrapped my arms around his muscled back and gently rolled him over to his back with me on top of him.

As I found myself on top of him, I realized I literally had no idea what to do next. I felt a bit awkward, sitting on his hard stomach, with only a bra and pants on doing nothing. Luckily for me, I think Jacob was turned on by my attempt to seduce him. He unbuttoned my pants and put his large hands on my hips as I attempted to shimmy my pants off of myself as fast as possible. Once they were at my ankles, I kicked them off, laughing a bit at my eagerness and hugged Jacob as close to my body as possible.

Before I was even aware of what was happening, I was on my back, with Jacob's lips on my neck, kissing me hungrily and his hands inching down between my green thong and my womanhood making me practically drip with excitement. I put my hands along his bottom, squeezed it tightly and pushed his boxers down to get a better view of what I wanted.

"Ally…" Jacob said panting as he took his hands out from my thong and released his lips from my neck. I felt so bare. So alone. "Ally, I don't have a….a….any….um….protection."

Damn. Oh well. I nodded and attacked his neck with my lips this time. I then inched my hands further and further down his stomach to his bulging penis and massaged it tightly, moving my hands up and down, like they were always meant to be there. His hands, which had previously been clamped around my shoulders, let go quickly and began moaning. I pushed him backward and started massaging him even faster as he sucked on my enlarged breasts.

"Oh, Ally!" He practically screamed, even though my breasts were still in his mouth. "I'm going to….I'm going to…Ally!"

His words made me even wetter below my waist. I wanted him inside me so bad! I channeled my frustration even more to the hand job I was giving him. "Come on, baby!"

"Ally! I'm gonna cum…"

"Then cum, baby! Cum for me. Please!" I shouted feeling myself bubbling over with excitement, even though I knew I wasn't going to have an orgasm this time around. I was just excited to have that effect over my love.

"Ally!" He moaned as his juices spilled over, not quite on my hands but near them.

"Yes, Jake!" I said excitedly, draping myself over his naked, shallowly breathing body.

"I love you." He said quietly, pulling my naked body close to him as he ran his fingers up and down my breasts and torso. Yep. This was where I wanted to be. Forever.

**A/N- PLEASE REVIEW! I thrive on them. Really and truly. **


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Ally P.O.V. _

"God! Ally, how much shit do you have in this box! Geez!" Paul asked as he picked up one of my larger boxes. I knew it wasn't actually heavy for him; he was just being a douche bag.

"Stop being a prick and carry it out to the truck!" I said exasperatedly, hitting him in the shoulder and instantly regretting it. It was a cold Sunday in January, the day before school started again, and more importantly it was moving day. I was so excited! Almost everyone was there, helping me get out of my super large house and into a small, shared bedroom. Regardless, I was really excited.

Once at Jacob's house, I spent the entire night unpacking my stuff while Jake went out on patrol with the boys. There had been some rumblings of vampire-like issues in the area and Jacob had told me more than once how much he felt better about the fact that I was now living on the reservation. I really wanted to pry, ask about what kinds of danger he was putting himself in to protect the community but I didn't. It really wasn't like me not to ask but something inside of me, some sort of mental block, kept me from asking for more details. I shared this with Emily and Kim who both informed me that it was the same way for them. Their theory was that it was "an imprint thing." Story of my life, apparently.

"So, Ally, do you miss home already?" Rachel asked me, later that night as I was getting ready for bed. The dark haired beauty and I hadn't really had that many conversations since I moved to town. I was actually pretty positive that she didn't like me. Jacob insisted that I was just being paranoid, and, truthfully, maybe I was. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was very weary around me, making the new sharing a room arrangement all the more awkward. But, whatever, beggars couldn't be choosers and right now, though my bank account was constantly full, I was still underage and there was no way I could get an apartment.

"Not really. I mean, I miss Carson and Marissa, but they call all the time and they love staying with Aunt Beth and Uncle Carl so I'm not too concerned about them." I said, plopping myself down on my bed. I was wearing my lime green tank top and plaid pajama pants. Not terribly sexy attire, but Jake was out all night with the guys anyway. Rachel sat demurely on her bed, directly across from mine. She looked so old for her actual age. I knew that in reality, she was only twenty years old, but still, there was a wisdom in her eyes, the kind that only came from enormous responsibility that shone through all the time, making her a bit distant.

"What about your dad?" I shook my head.

"No. Not really. And truthfully, he's happy to be rid of the three of us. He just married Siena and they're traveling the world together. Honeymoon in Paris, living in London, the whole nine yards. He keeps my bank account full, but honestly, that's the only way I know that he hasn't forgotten about me entirely." I said quietly. Something about the way that Rachel nodded understandingly prodded me to continue. "After what my mom did to him, cheating and the abuse she put him through even though he loved her, the twins and I were a constant reminder of what he lost."

"What about your mom? Do you ever talk to her?" I laughed bitterly. Rachel looked up sharply. I winced. I had forgotten that Rachel and Jacob had lost their mom so young. Time to backpedal.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so crass, it's just….well, after years and years of emotional abuse, my mom cheated on my dad with a physical abuser and the three of us were stuck in the middle. I mean, it was bad enough that out of my mom and my dad, I chose my dad and I knew he would abandon us the second he got a chance. But seriously, anything was better than the desert hellhole I was living in."

Rachel nodded and seemed to understand my response a bit better. We spoke for hours. She got me. Like, she actually listened and understood me. It was so freeing. We talked about my aspirations, a dance scholarship and majoring in psychology to help kids that grew up in the same environment I did and her aspirations, becoming an elementary school teacher. Apparently, she was halfway through her certification already. We talked about our siblings, the great times I had with Marissa and Carson and the not so great times as well. She spoke about what it was like being the quiet twin and never quite feeling like she measured up to Rebecca, Prom Queen and Student Body President and Jacob, the tribal protector. We spoke about our werewolves, one imprint to another and the special bonds we felt with them as well as the special bonds Emily, Kim, Rachel and I felt together. Tasha and Claire weren't quite part of the "imprint club" yet, since neither of them knew about the werewolf thing, but Rachel assured me that they would be soon enough. Then our dads and….our moms.

At about 3a.m., Rachel finally drifted off to sleep, but I got up to get a drink of water. I snuck through the house as quiet as possible so that I wouldn't wake up Billy. I got my water and went sneaking back to my room. As I went down the hallway, I snuck past Jacob's room. I opened the door slowly and looked in. There he was, draped across the bed, as asleep as I ever thought anyone could be. I thought of hopping into bed with him but decided against it. He just looked so, peaceful, I didn't want even the slightest possibility that he'd wake up.

I went back to my room and got into bed. I looked around to make sure Rachel was asleep and then pulled out the letter that I had found in the mailbox before I had left my old house. It was addressed to Al Winston. I hated that he insisted on calling me Al but I hated even more that he used his last name instead of my own. I swallowed hard and opened the letter quietly, noticing that the letter was not postmarked.

_**Dearest Al,**_

_**Happy moving day. Are you surprised that I knew you were moving in with your little boyfriend today? You really shouldn't be, Al. I know everything. I see everything. That's how I know Marissa and Carson are now living in Texas with your biological father's sister. I don't really care. I never really cared about them anyway. However, I know you. I know you better than you think I do, Al. So here it is. I have been writing you letters every week for the last two months with no response. So be it. I am done playing nice father to you ungrateful little brat. You no longer have the option of pacifying me with a letter. You better be at the Cottage Inn, in Humboldt, CA, by Monday evening. If not, I will kill them. Did you read that, Al? I. Will. Kill. Them. I have them. They weren't hard to get from Boarding School with no one noticing. Meet me there, Tuesday morning and I will let them go. Anytime after that and they'll never be seen again. **_

_**With all my love,**_

_**Your father**_

_**P.S.- If you bring anyone with you, I will know. Don't try it, Al. See you on Monday.**_

I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. The animalistic part of my being took over. I knew he would do it. Mike would take them to get to me. Of course he would. I got up quietly and grabbed my backpack, throwing my wallet, car keys and a few clothes in it. But not my cell phone. I changed my clothes quickly into jeans, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt that I stole from Jacob a few weeks earlier. I knew I had quite the drive ahead of me, at least twelve hours. I walked out of the house quietly, not looking back and hoping to God that Jacob wouldn't be to angry at me for leaving. I couldn't associate him in this. I hadn't told him anything about Mike's correspondence and I didn't intend to start now. That was all I needed, to have Jacob know that his imprint, which he was stuck with, had so much emotional baggage she could fill a house.

I got in my jeep and drove away from my heart, tears streaming soundlessly down my cheeks.

I had only been driving for a few minutes before I hit the reservation line. I knew that once I passed this, I was home free. But passing the line wouldn't be easy. Just because Jake was home didn't mean the other wolves were and I knew they couldn't keep anything from each other. It was "a wolf thing" as he so eloquently put it. I stopped at the last stop sign before Forks and looked to my right. I saw a pair of big chocolate eyes looking back. I had two options here. Option number 1: I don't address the wolf at all and have whoever it is go back and tell Jake that they'd seen my car. Option number 2: I go and make up some stupid excuse and try to buy myself some time. Whatever I was going to choose, I only had a split second to decide. I sighed and pulled my car over to the side. I got out carefully, as it was still pitch black and tipped toed into the woods.

"Hello? It's me, Ally. Who's here?" A large grey spotted wolf emerged from the darkness and came close to me, nudging my hand in a comforting gesture, presumably to let me know this wasn't some wild wolf. Like I would get confused? The werewolves were so much larger than regular wolves.

"This is Embry, isn't it? Of course it is." I had only ever seen Jacob in wolf form but somehow I knew this had to be Embry. It just….had to be. I couldn't explain why I knew, or how. But it was. The wolf looked up at me with questioning eyes, as if to ask what I was doing out and about at 3:30a.m. Lie. Lie well. This wasn't Jacob, Embry I should be able to lie to.

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing, huh?" I asked plastering a sheepish smile on my face. The wolf raised his eyebrows.

"Well, see, the Victoria's Secret outlet, at the Seattle mall, is having a huge semi-annual sale. And they open at 5 a.m. but I want to make sure I'm in line so that the good stuff doesn't get taken, you know?" I asked flashing a huge smile. He looked at me quizzically, like he was calculating the amount of chance that I was lying versus how into shopping I was. The shopping won out, just as I knew it would. He licked my cheek and stepped back into the shadows.

"Bye, Embry." I said quietly as I walked back to my car and started back to my drive. Instead of taking the freeway toward north and Seattle, I went south to Humboldt County.

_Jacob P.O.V_

I really didn't want to get up. First day back at school always sucked so bad. I grabbed my cell phone next to my head. 7:20 a.m. Odd. Ally always woke up early and I usually felt her get out of bed when she went to get her coffee and workout. Either I was so dead tired after patrolling last night I didn't even know she had gotten up or she didn't come to my room last night. Either way, I missed her already. It had been almost 24 hours since I saw her and this overwhelming need to make sure she was okay came over me.

I didn't even bother to put my shirt on and walked out of my room. The first thing I noticed was that there was no smell of coffee wafting through the house. As far as I knew, Ally had never forgotten her coffee in the morning, ever, so she couldn't have been up yet. I snuck into the room that she and Rachel shared, deciding I was going to climb in with her and fall back asleep. We'd skip today. Who cares? I used to do it all the time.

My heart fell into my stomach. Her bed was empty. I practically ran out of the room and looked out of the window. Her jeep was gone. Shit, where was that girl? Don't freak out, Jake. I kept reminding myself. Don't freak out. I ran back into the girl's room and shook awake my sister.

"Jake? ...God, what?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and taking one look at my frantic face.

"Ally? Have you seen her?" I asked, trying to keep myself from shaking and trembling. Rachel shot up.

"No. We stayed up late last night talking and then went to bed. She didn't say anything about leaving early. She knew you guys had school today." Rachel said, eyebrows furrowed. I couldn't hold it together anymore. The wolf was taking over. "Go!" She practically pushed me into action.

I didn't think twice. I bolted out of the house and phased right there in the backyard. I did make it to the woods before howling at the hidden moon, a secret call for my brothers and sister to meet me, only used when intensely important. It only took a few minutes before I was joined by Seth, then Embry, Sam, Collin, Leah, Brady, Paul, Jared and Quil.

_What's the situation, Jacob?_ Sam asked

The despair flooded over me. I couldn't even think the words. I saw everyone flinch around me.

_Jacob! Focus and explain._ Sam commanded.

_Ally is gone. Rachel said she was planning on school today but today she was gone. I think….something…._ I couldn't think the rest, even though Sam had commanded it.

_She lied. Damn it!_ Embry exclaimed. He played back a conversation between he and Ally earlier this morning in his head and I watched as Ally was obviously lying to Embry and yet he just let her go.

_You let her go!_ I growled, lunging at my best friend. Even though, logically, I knew he was my best friend, it barely even crossed my mind. I was purely running on instinct.

_Jacob! Stop!_ Sam commanded strongly. My body no longer would move and I whined sorrowfully.

_God, Jacob. It was obviously not on purpose. Lay off._ Leah said callously.

_Shut up, Leah._ Sam, Paul, Jared, Quil and even Embry shot back. They knew how I was feeling.

_The point is no longer that she's gone, but why._ Sam said. _We'll split up. Make this your top priority, guys._

_Jake, are you sure she didn't just need some time off. Kim leaves for a day or so from time to time just to get some space. Maybe Ally went back home to California. _Jared suggested.

_Or to London to see her dad?_ Brady added.

_But without calling or telling anyone? That's not Ally. _Embry added. I was glad there wasn't any hard feelings over my attack of him earlier but the look on his face told me that he was really guilty. I knew that he and Ally were really good friends and if I was capable of feeling anything but my own extreme worry and sadness, I might have noticed that Embry was itching to go looking for her.

_And why would she tell Embry something different. Why wouldn't she just tell him the truth?_ Quil asked thoughtfully.

_Maybe she was embarrassed by the fact that she scares easy?_ I growled territorially in Leah's direction.

_Shut up, Leah! _Embry and Quil shouted.

_Guys, I just….I need her back. I need to be sure she's okay. Something inside me is saying that she's not. _I said as my body stopped feeling emotion and began shutting down entirely. I honestly didn't know which option was worse.

_We'll find her, Jake._ I barely nodded. I couldn't feel anything. I was numb. Numb and nothing mattered to me. Nothing without her.

_Ally P.O.V._

I drove and drove. Then drove and drove and drove some more. I was incapable of thought or emotion. Besides eight hours earlier, when I had been so overcome with the weight of what I was about to do and the weight of those I left behind, I pulled off the road and cried for over an hour. But now, I was cried out. Out of tears, out of pain, just emotionally stunted and I hadn't even hit the hard part yet.

I reached Humboldt County and stopped at the local gas station to fuel up. As I was pumping the gas into my tank, I reached into my pocket to reread the letter. I felt around blindly and emotionlessly and came up with nothing. I sighed. I had rushed out of the house so suddenly that I had left it at home. I remembered where I was going but if I left it at home, anyone could find it. Great job covering your tracks, Ally. For someone who doesn't want to be found, you sure are doing a sucky job at it. I went inside to pay and asked directions to the Cottage Inn. The pimply young cashier said it was only about ten miles ahead; unfortunately, this was the closest establishment to it. Nothing in that area except the small Inn.

Somehow though, I knew that. I mean, really, what was I expecting? That Mike would have us at the local Motel 6, where anyone and everyone could hear me scream or see him taking kids hostage? As much as I wished he was the dumbest shit on Earth, I knew he wasn't. When it came to inflicting pain on others, he was a fucking genius. I got back into my car and sealed my fate.

It took me less than ten minutes to drive up to the small Inn. I parked, grabbed my bag and went inside. Standing at the counter was the ridiculously bored looking Indian owner.

"Hello, welcome to the Cottage Inn. I am Gupta, I help you?" He asked with his thick accent, barely looking up from his copy of Jurassic Park.

"Yes. I'm looking for Michael Winston. He's about 6'4, 250 pounds, has two kids with him…." Gupta looked at me quizzically. Did he not understand me? My God, why was he staring at me like that?

"Mr. Winston is in Honeymoon suite. About a mile up the road. Good day." He said looking right back down to his book. I rolled my eyes. I decided that the walk would do me good, prepare me for what I was about to do: face my demons.

_Jacob P.O.V._

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. I could feel it. Like a magnetic pull, leading me in her direction, except for the life of me, I couldn't figure out where. The pack was doing their best, but it had been almost four hours and all we knew was that she was going south toward California. I knew that everyone thought she had left on her own. That she got scared by the whole imprint thing and bailed. Hell, Emily had done it and so had Kim and they had both come back within a few hours. They didn't get why I was so worried. But leaving because she was scared of something was not my Ally. She was the bravest person I knew. Something had to have made her go, something terrible and I just couldn't figure out what it was.

"Fuck!" I yelled, punching the drywall in my room as I was searching it. The blow didn't hurt me any but I knew I was the one that would have to fix that wall soon enough.

"Jacob!" Rachel yelled from the other room. I jogged in hoping for any information she might have for me. "Hey, look at these. I found them in a box under her bed."

Rachel handed me about ten different pieces of paper, all written in the same handwriting. I read one and then the other, and the next and the next and when I had finished them all, I had become more enraged than I ever had felt before. I was even angrier than when Bella had become engaged to Edward and even more furious than my first phase. I bolted out the door and phased on the spot. The guys who were phased, Paul, Quil, Embry and Sam felt my anger the second I phased.

_Wow. Dude. What did you find?_ Quil asked.

_Calm, Jacob! _Sam ordered. I calmed down and mentally replayed the last few moments in my head, letting all the guys read the threatening letters Ally's step-father had been sending her. Including the last one that said where they were. I was so blinded by anger. I couldn't even make a decision. All that was going through my head was how I could kill the person who had harmed my imprint. The one who touched what was mine! Luckily, Embry was there and had my back.

_Okay. Call Jared we got to go!_ Embry exclaimed. Sam whirled around to him.

_Think first, Embry!_ Sam commanded. Embry stopped speaking. _Okay. The younger two boys and I will stay here and keep the Reservation protected. We can't all leave, not with the recent vampire threat. Seth and Leah will be your backup. You five may go. Paul is in charge. _

By that point, Jared had arrived and was chomping at the bit just like the rest. _Got it. We'll get her, Jacob. She'll be fine._ I still was so overcome with anger that if Sam had not been restraining my movements and speech, I would have been gone by now. Too much talk.

_Sam. Say the word._ Paul said quietly.

_Paul, there is no reason for that. _Sam hissed.

_Yes, there is! Pack law. Allyson is Jacob's imprint. Say the word._ Paul said again, more forcefully this time.

Sam sighed. _You have permission to use whatever force necessary under Quileute pack law. Go. _

That was all the words we needed. The mental restraint was lifted and I was off with the four other guys following very close behind.

**A/N- The. Hunt. Is. On. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!- CosmoGirl**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone-I am so sorry it has been so long! Thanks for hanging with me this whole time! I super appreciate it! And...as a Thank You Present, I'm going to put up 4 chapters tonight! You're welcome!**

Chapter 9

_Ally P.O.V_

I hiked up the road until I reached the small cottage. It was probably half the size of Jacob's house, surrounded only by woods and brush. No roads, nothing. All that was there was Mike's beat up old clunker. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Mike answered within thirty seconds.

"Al. I've been expecting you." He looked different than before. If anything, more menacing. His beer gut had gotten much larger since I had last seen him and he had let his beard and mustache grow.

"I'm here. Let them go." I said. He grabbed me by the upper arm roughly and tossed me into the house, locking the door behind us.

"I make the rules here, darling." He dragged me to the couch and sat me down on it. I stared him straight in the eye. "Let me show you the new digs, Al. This is where I've been living. Kitchen, living room and bedroom. Oh, not to worry, Al, the bed is very comfortable. We'll break it in later."

My emotional reactions were starting to resurface. I pushed it as far down as I could. I would not be afraid.

"Where are they?" I asked tersely.

"School, I would expect. It is the middle of January." He said smiling. My breath caught in my throat and I had an overwhelming urge to vomit. They weren't even here.

"They aren't even here. You lied." I said as dully as I could.

"Well, my darling, you wouldn't have come otherwise." He came and sat next to me on the couch, taking his small callously hands and rubbing them against my cheek. "I needed you. I want you, Al."

I tried not to notice his beer breath next to my right ear, but it was just so vile. "Why aren't you screwing my mom?"

The slap came before I even prepared myself for it. Handprint, right across my face. "Shut up, Bitch."

Another slap, this time drawing some blood across my cheek and the left side of my lip. He got turned on by this and leaned close enough to put his mouth on my cuts, sucking the blood out erotically. "Your mother let herself go. I need something….tighter."

I knew that I really shouldn't be thinking this right now, but all I could think was, if I was going to die here, I really regret not having sex with Jacob when I had the chance. I didn't want my only sexual experience to be with this dickhead. Mike then took the tongue that he had on my cheek and licked all up and down my cheek to my collarbone. I didn't want to do this; I didn't want to be with him. It made me so ill. I would rather kill myself than be with anyone but Jacob. I pushed Mike off of me and bolted for the door.

He didn't say a word, but dragged me by my hair to the floor and he pounced on top of me. "Oh. Oh. Ally, you're toying with me baby."

He said biting me all over. Literally biting, with blood marks and everything. I began screaming. "Let me go! Please!"

"Oh yes!" He groaned. "Yes! Tell me how much you want me to let you go! Scream for me!"

He continued biting all over and began choking me. I knew what he wanted. After how many times this had happened to me, I knew what turned him on and I tried to do the opposite. This time though, was much more vicious than in the past and I couldn't help it.

"Please! Mike!" I tried yelling as he choked me harder. "Please! Let me go!"

"Whatever you say, girlie." He stopped choking me and ripped off my shirt, rubbing my tits so hard that I couldn't help but scream.

"Fuck, yeah!" He yelled back. He then bit all over them, and I felt the blood trickle out. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to keep the tears in, but it just hurt so badly. He moved down to my pants and peeled them off, just as he took off his own shirt. I tried to move my conscious to somewhere else, anywhere else. It always went back to Jacob. My Jacob. I had an out of body experience. In the read world, Mike was biting, pulling and rubbing things in a way they shouldn't be just to jerk off. In my dream world, Jacob was holding me and caressing me and I was doing the same to him, helping him get the amazing feelings in his body as I was in mine.

"Jake…" I whispered quietly. The pain stopped suddenly.

"Jake?" Mike exclaimed. "Who the fuck is that, Al?"

I didn't realize his pants were already off and that he was about to actually get around to entering me. He put his penis in my vagina sharply. "Who. The. Fuck. Is. That. Al?"

He asked as he put his penis in and out, in and out sharply and angrily. "My….my….boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend ain't gonna fuck you like I can, bitch!" He said getting faster, sharper and angrier with his movements. I screamed as loud as I could, but that only fueled him. "Yes! Yes! I'm going to cum! Fuck, yes, bitch! Yes!"

He spilled inside of me and I promptly threw up beside myself. "Yeah, Al. You tell that boyfriend of yours I fucked you so hard, you threw up. Bet he can't do that."

"He wouldn't try." I said quietly wiping my mouth with the back of me hand.

"Say that again, bitch?" Mike hadn't even bothered to put his clothes on yet, which made me think he was going to have another go around. If I was going to die, I might as well, go out with a bang.

"He wouldn't try. He loves me and I love him. And when he found out what you did, he's going to kill you." I threatened.

"Not if I kill him first." He said menacingly as he roughly made me stand and pushed me into the bedroom and onto the bed, blood spilling everywhere. I could feel the bruises start and the blood trickle down as I threw up again.

I guess this is what death feels like. I'd never really given that much thought to it. I mean, I hadn't purposely ignored it but it had never really come up before. Bad stuff has happened, Lord knows I have had my share, but I am a fighter. Never say die. Yet, here I was, lying here on a soft bed, awaiting death. And for once in a long time, I was happy with the choices that had led me here. I had done everything I wanted to do in life.

I had loved another with all of my heart, all of my soul and all of my everything. All I could see at this moment was his face in my head. My eyes were swollen so shut that I couldn't see but if he was here I would force them open, just to see his beautiful face one more time.

The heart is a double edged sword sometimes. I was glad he wasn't here. I never wanted him to see me like this and I never would want him to be hurt because of my choices. My smart yet ridiculously dumb choices. But, I needed him here so badly. I wanted him to hug me and kiss me and tell me everything would be okay, even though it was a lie. I wasn't going to be okay. I was going to die here and I knew it. But, the point was that those closest to me were not going to meet their ends here. The monster hadn't wanted them. He had wanted me and I knew it. I did my best to push his face as far away from my mind as possible. As much as I wanted to think about him, it brought me the worst type of despair, knowing I'd never see him, never touch him, never smell him or hear him again.

Even though my death was imminent, I couldn't regret the decisions that had brought me to this moment. They had also brought me to him. Sure, I had been in the hospital more times this year than ever before. But that didn't matter. I had met him and my entire life changed.

Actually to be fair, my life had always been changing. It never stayed the same. It was like a ripple in a body of water. Constantly moving and constantly changing those around me, for better and worse. Since I was going to die soon anyway, I allowed my thoughts to naturally drift back to where I was most comfortable. With my…my….I gulped and felt that pain again as I thought about his name.

I hear the monster walk towards me and stop close to my body. I guess he wasn't going to kill me. He was going to have his way with me….again. As I felt my small body become the monster's playground and the blanket that I was using to cover up with taken off roughly and angrily, I thought back to him. My mind always drifted back to him. Like two magnets. Staying apart was not an option. Even when we were apart, we were one. I could feel him.

The pain of the monsters violation ripped through me again, but I couldn't make a sound. Think of something else, Ally, dear God, think of something else. I forced myself to relive my memories, my life, and maybe, just maybe, the monster would be merciful this time.

_Jacob P.O.V._

I felt the wind rush past me. I was running at upwards on seventy miles an hour and was not the least bit tired. All I could think about was getting to my baby. About six hours into the run, I got a whiff of her scent and my heart leaped.

_Do you smell that?_ Paul asked.

_Ally?_ Jared questioned.

_Ally_. I confirmed.

_Well, let's go!_ Embry exclaimed. It only took an extra hour to get Humboldt County. I heard a scream from far in the distance. It felt like a knife in my windpipe. I was suddenly crippled. My imprint. Screaming.

_It's Ally!_ Quil exclaimed.

We got closer and closer to a small cabin in the woods and the screams became louder and louder.

_Okay. Three take care of it. Two, go get Ally._ Paul said as we ran. _I'm going with the three. Jake?_

_I'm doing the kill._

_Jared and Embry, you get Ally. Quil come with us. Go!_

Jared and Embry phased back and slipped on their shorts. They barged open the locked door. An older man stepped out of the back room and shut it behind him while zipping his pants. He had blood all over him and a knife in his hand.

"Get out of my house!" He told Jared and Embry.

"Karma's a bitch!" Jared exclaimed. They pushed him toward the three of us still in wolf form and we took him outside and began to dispose of him and all other pieces of evidence. I was so angry and focused on my task at hand I didn't quite connect the fact that he had a knife on him and someone's blood all over everything.

"Jacob!" Embry shouted from inside.

_Go. We've got it out here._ Paul said, disposing of the mangled body previously belonging to Ally's attacker in the nearby river.

I phased back, excited to see my love again. In all actuality it had only been two day since we'd been separated but I felt an uncontrollable urge to have her in my arms again. In the last five months since she had moved here, we'd only been apart two days at a time. I needed her, she calmed me, and made me not so crazy effectively making me the happiest I'd ever been in my entire life. What was I going to do without her? I didn't even want to think about that. I walked in to the back room and saw Jared doing chest compressions and Embry performing mouth to mouth on my naked, beaten up, bloody and bruised imprint. My life flashed before my eyes. I couldn't breathe and I couldn't move. I had failed. I was supposed to protect her. I couldn't even do that with her living on the reservation? She was my imprint, my other half. I'd never have anyone else. Without her, I was nothing.

Something in my mind snapped and I went into decision making mode. "Here. I'll take over!"

I switched with Jared and climbed on top of my unmoving Ally and began performing chest compressions. "Breathe! Come on, baby! Breathe!"

Nothing. Paul and Quil came in. Maybe before I started, maybe during, I had no idea. Quil spoke. "We called 911. They're on their way."

I paid him no mind. "Come on, honey! I need you! Please!"

"Jake…" Paul started.

"No, Paul! No! Come on, Ally! Breathe!"

"Jacob…" Paul started again. Was he right? Was Ally….no! I couldn't even think the words.

"No! Ally! Please, baby!" I was crying now. Outright crying. I'd never done that in front of the guys before and at this point, I didn't care. I looked to Embry, his eyes tearing up as well. "Please!"

"Wait!" Jared exclaimed. "I hear it!"

He was right. I heard and felt it too. A small breathing in and out underneath my hands. I sighed with relief.

"Let's get her a bit covered up before the paramedics get here." Paul said quietly. Quil and Embry nodded and wrapped a blanket around her. "Jacob, I'm sorry I…."

"It's fine. I understand." I said wiping my tears and picking Ally up. It felt so good to hold her in my arms, even though I knew she was badly hurt. But I made myself a promise as the paramedics came hurrying into the cabin. We were not going to be separated. Not an option.

_Jacob P.O.V. _

It had been hours since the ambulance had brought Ally to this friggin' chop shop of a hospital. I had to tell them she was my wife to get any information at all and now, I was getting questioned by the police because she had been raped and beaten up and they were sure that I'd done it.

"Have you ever been angry at your wife?" Cop #1 asked me angrily.

"No. Never."

"Have you ever hurt an inanimate object in a rage?" Cop #2 asked.

"No."

"Has your wife ever hit you?" Cop #1 again.

"No."

"Have you ever hit your wife?" Cop #2's turn.

"No!" Why didn't they believe me?

"Has your wife ever told you she didn't wish to be intimate and you insisted on it anyway?" Cop #1 asked.

"No!" Even the thought about me doing that to Ally was unthinkable.

"Did you know that you can rape your wife? Just because you're married doesn't make you immune to the law." Cop #2 was such a dimwit!

"Yes, I know. But it didn't happen. I told you what happened." I exclaimed

"Oh, yes, your wife went to see her estranged step-father and he is the one who did this to her. You, your brothers and her brother found her beaten and bloody and her step-father got away as you were tending to her. Is that right?" Pretty much. We embellished a little bit so that I could get more information but that's basically it.

"Yes! It's true! That is exactly what happened. Ask her brother!" I practically shouted. We had been pretending that Embry, the whitest of us all, was her brother just in case those crazy doctors deemed not to give me any information.

"Alright, you may go. Bring in the brother next." Cop #1 said opening the door of the small office.

"Your turn, Embry." I said rolling my eyes as Embry gave a small smile. Before they shut the door to the interrogation room, all I heard were the cops asking if Embry was Mrs. Chase-Black's sister and Embry said yes.

"It's been hours." Quil whispered. "No new info?"

I shook my head. All I knew was that they were still working on her. She was going to need a lot of stitches and went into surgery to repair the damage Mike had done, and it was quite extensive. The doctors had told me that there was a possibility she may never be able to have kids. This, though I would never let her know it, was a bit devastating. I, someday, wanted to have Ally have my children. I wanted a little tan Ally running around, or a little pale me. I put my head in my hands.

"Mr. Black?" The doctor came out, still in surgery scrubs. "I'm Dr. Chapman. Mrs. Black is out of surgery. She's doing as well as can be expected. The damage inside her body was quite extensive but we believe we've repaired everything. She's still recovering, the surgery was very hard on her body after all she'd been through today but we respect a full recovery in a few weeks. She should be able to go home in a few days."

"Thank you, Dr. Chapman." I said gratefully.

"No problem. The nurse, Michelle, will be out to give you some more information in a little bit." I nodded and sighed. Thank God. She was going to be okay. My baby was going to be okay.

A few moments later a plump and kindly looking nurse came out of her room. "She's still asleep, but you can go be with your wife if you'd like, Mr. Black."

"Thank you." It was times like these that I was glad I looked older than I was. Nobody questioned me at all when I told them we were married. I looked back to my pack brothers, most of which were on their phone to their girlfriends giving them the latest updates. Quil was the only one paying attention. He gave me an encouraging smile and I stepped into the bright white room.

Ally looked so pale and sick. Purple bruises covered her face and there were black stitches on her face, neck and arms. At least that was all I could see. There probably was more but they were covered up by her blue gown. I stepped to her side and sat on the chair next to the bed and grabbed her hand, gently trying to wake her. She stayed unmoving. I intertwined my fingers with hers and laid my head down on her bed. I didn't know how long it had actually been, but it felt like hours and hours later, I fell asleep while praying to the Gods that she would be okay.

I woke a few hours later, with the sun shining through the large window from Ally's hospital room.

"Oh. You're awake." The nurse from yesterday, Michelle said as I stretched slightly.

"Any change?" I asked immediately. She smiled kindly.

"No, not yet. She's still sleeping it off. Why don't you get a drink or some food at the cafeteria?" She said kindly. My stomach began rumbling but I shrugged it off. I was more than happy to withstand the pain in my stomach over the pain of leaving Ally.

"No. I'm okay." I said, absently rubbing Ally's hand with my thumb. "My pa-brothers, are they still here?"

"They left early this morning with a note for you." She handed me a piece of paper, stapled at all the ends. "They really wanted to make sure that only either you or Mrs. Black saw it."

I smirked as I ripped open the paper.

_**Jake,**_

_**We had to leave early this morning. We got a bit nervous when Sam called and said there was a border intrusion last night. Call any of us if you need anything at all. **_

_**We're glad everything is going to be okay,**_

_**Paul, Jared, Embry and Quil**_

I sighed. I knew they had to leave, because I would have done the same thing if the situation was reversed, however, I really needed some support. I needed my friends here. I needed them to stay with me and support me just in case- I gulped. My eyes began watering again and I looked up at the nurse quickly. "Maybe I will get something to eat."

She nodded. I gave Ally a quick kiss and stepped out of the room. I didn't know what I was doing but before I was consciously aware, I had pulled out my phone and dialed the number that at one point I had sworn never to call again. That was water under the bridge now though. I needed someone and I knew she would come to my aide.

The phone only rang once before I heard a bell like tone answer, "Hello?"

"Bella." That's all I could say before the tears I had been holding back for the last twenty-four hours came rushing out.

"Jacob. Jacob? What's wrong?" She asked and I could hear the concern in her voice, but I could barely respond. "Are you alright?"

"I'm, I'm…no. I'm not." I stuttered.

"What's happening?" She asked. The concern had now moved into panic.

"Ally. Ally's….hurt. She could….she could die! I just don't know what to do. I didn't know who to call. I can't live without her. Bella, I need my best friend." I bawled. I couldn't help it. She was my Bella and I was her Jacob and her voice made me want to spill all of my guts.

"Where are you?" She asked shortly.

"Um…Humboldt County Hospital in California." I said.

"Hold on. Edward is online right now looking up flights. Okay, got it. I'll be leaving the airport in less than an hour. I'll be there by lunchtime." Bella said. God, I missed her.

"Thank you, Bells." I said quietly.

"I'll be there soon." And with that, she hung up.

I went down to the cafeteria to eat, but I could barely stuff anything down, even though I knew I was hungry. I spent the hours waiting for Bella, by Ally's bedside holding on to her hand like a life vest. I made sure to text all the guys and their girlfriends with the latest update, which was….nothing and waited. At 1:13 p.m. the wind rushed into the room. Except it wasn't the wind. It was a vampire and possibly one of the best sights I'd ever seen in my life. Wow. Never thought I'd say that. The vampire was wearing a black coat with the hood pulled down so that I could only see its mouth. I immediately went over to the window to shut the sun out and the vampire pulled off her hood, revealing my brunette best friend.

"Bella!" I breathed. I practically ran over to give her a hug. "I missed you. Thank you for coming."

"No problem, Jacob. It was the least I could do, but no more hugging. You smell terrible." She smirked. I stepped back.

"Um…are you okay, with everything?" I was talking about the other smells in the room, most specifically, Ally. I knew, from the last time I'd seen Bella in September that she was an exceptional vampire, with superhuman self control but I still had to be sure.

Luckily, she knew exactly what I was talking about. She laughed sarcastically. "I'm totally fine, Jake. You know me, the power of self-control."

I laughed at her bitterness about not having a cool power like Edward and Alice. It was nice to laugh again.

"I brought some people with me." Bella said. Just then I noticed a tiny pair of Bella's old chocolate brown eyes peeking out from behind her back.

"Hi, Uncle Jacob." A tiny bell like voice came out. Renesmee. The last time I saw her was in September and she was three days old. Now, four months later, she looked a little over a year and spoke perfectly.

"Renesmee! Hey, little one!" I enthusiastically picked her up and hugged her close. I loved this little girl. Something about her made you love her, like her own super power. She looked over at her mom, who nodded and then looked back at me. She placed her tiny, angelic hand on my cheek and suddenly pictures began flashing through my mind and Renesmee was narrating them.

_My call to Bella on the phone. She was scared for me and who her father told her was her, Aunt Ally. She wanted to meet her._

_Her mother telling her that the two of them and her Grandfather Carlisle were going to go on a trip to see up. She was really excited._

_Her mother and her deciding to surprise me, she thought that was fun._

_The sadness she felt when seeing Ally on the bed. She thought she was very pretty and wanted to help her._

_How much she loved me._

The pictures ended and I was in shock. What the Hell was that?

"Yep. That's her special talent." Bella said amusingly. "Great isn't it? We discovered it right after you and Sam left in September. I have the only toddler in the world who doesn't cry to tell me what she wants. She tells me with mind powers."

I smiled. "You sure are something, Nessie."

"Nessie?" Bella asked raising her eyebrows. "Nessie?"

"Yeah. Well, that name you gave her is kind of a mouthful, Bells. It's way better to shorten it." I explained logically. She mumbled something to the effect of "just wait until Edward hears about this", but I couldn't quite make it out.

"So, Nessie said Carlisle was here too?" I asked hopefully.  
"Yes, he was insistent that he come too. He's with Allyson's doctors right now."

"I'm glad." I really was. I knew that most of my pack brothers, Hell, most of the reservation had stopped going to the hospital in Forks because he was an Attending physician there but ever since he had treated me after that Vampire battle with the stupid redhead, I would trust him with my life. More importantly, I trusted him with my imprint's life, and that was far more important.

Carlisle came whisking into the room, a few moments later, with at least two separate doctors and nurses following him. "I'm going to do it anyway."

"You can't!" Dr. Chapman yelled at him. "She's not…that's not…it's not the right symptoms. She could rest it off. I'm her attending and that is my treatment."

"It's the wrong treatment!" Carlisle exclaimed. I was shocked. It was the loudest, I think, I had ever heard him speak. "You have it in her charts here that she could be suffering from a perforated uterus do to the violence she suffered. Of course she does! The excess blood is draining into her system. That's why she hasn't yet woken up, because her body is trying to fight off the intrusion!"

"Now just one moment, Dr. Cullen, I have been the attending gynecologist here for twenty years. I know my stuff and this young woman will be fine. She just needs to be given some rest and quiet!" Dr. Chapman exclaimed.

Carlisle's voice became dangerously low and slightly threatening. "Are you willing to bet her future on that?"

"Yes." Dr. Chapman yelled exasperatedly.

"No." I said, finally speaking up in this tennis match of words and accusations. "I'm not willing to bet that."

"Mr. Black, be reasonable your wife is…" He started, but I cut him off.

"Carlisle. Can you do the procedure here?" I asked, turning my back to the exasperated Dr. Chapman.

"Yes. I'll just need the room, supplies and a few nurses." I nodded.

"Fine. Have whatever the Hell you want! But I wash my hands of the whole thing. I'm done!" And with that, Dr. Chapman stormed out of the room leaving a confused staff behind.

"Okay. I'm going to need a room and an anesthesiologist. Let's go! We don't have anytime to waste." Most of the staff left in a rush except the orderlies who prepared to move Ally.

"Jacob. I'm positive that this is the right procedure, especially if you two want to have children someday. This is the only chance."

"I trust you." He nodded and before I knew it, Bella, Nessie and I were the only people left in the big, white room. A silent few minutes passed until the Bella I knew and loved opened her big mouth.

"Wife?"

I shook my head. "It was the only way they would give me any information on anything."

She smiled. "Good boy."

**A/N- See she's all better! Right? Right? Right? Haha. Please REVIEW, my loves!- Cosmo Girl**


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Ally P.O.V._

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Black.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Darkness.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Gray now.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Color.

Beep. Beep.

Where was I?

A hospital? I looked around at my surroundings. This was definitely a hospital. I had tubes on my arms and hands. Oh God, not again.

"Oh, you're awake." I honest to goodness thought I must have been still dreaming. The man talking to me was….beautiful. His slightly tousled golden hair matched both eerily and perfectly with his outrageously pale skin. Too pale, I thought. But, I wasn't a very good judge. I had spent the last few months with only tan people, including my boyfriend. Jacob. Oh my God, where was Jacob?

"Jacob." Was that my voice? Ugh. It did not sound right at all. Really scratchy and not at all belonging to me.

"My daughter convinced him to go get some food. He has barely left your side in three days." The beautiful man told me. I smiled, but thinking about him put a whole in my stomach. I missed him. I wanted him next to me. I didn't want to be in a room alone with a man I didn't know. Mike. That must be why I was here.

"What happened to me?" I asked in that weird voice again.

"What do you remember?" He asked me. That was so not the answer to my question but something about the way he spoke to me made me answer without even knowing it. I had every intention to lie. It just didn't work that way.

"Um…my step-father. He said he had my siblings. I went to find him….to get them back. But, they weren't there. Only him. And then, he well, he did what he'd done multiple times before. Just a bit more viciously this time, I guess." I spoke quietly. Not wanting to spill any secrets. I mean, I was really drugged up and the last thing I would want would be to tell this gorgeous doctor about my werewolf of a boyfriend or all the other supernatural things that have seeped their way into my life.

"Well, your boyfriend and his friends found you. They brought you here and I treated you for a perforated uterus among other small injuries. You should be alright in a few days." He told me.

"Thank you, Dr., uh, Dr., uh…?" I started quizzically.

"Dr. Carlisle Cullen." Something clicked in my brain. Dr. Cullen, as in Edward, Bella and Renesmee Cullen.

"Oh. Oh!" I gasped. "Oh…"

I felt really lame. I mean I didn't know what to say to him. I knew he was a Vampire, I knew he was my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend's father-in-law and I knew he knew that I was Jacob's imprint. But, what could I say? I mean, what was there to say?

"Yes. Well, I'm very glad you're okay Miss Chase…"

"Ally." I said. Jacob liked these people so I knew I was safe here.

"Ally. Like I said, I'm very glad you're safe. Jacob wouldn't be able to survive if you weren't; you know that, don't you?" That definitely put a smile on my face. I nodded and tiredness overtook me again.

"Go ahead and sleep, Ally. He'll be here when you wake up." I sighed at that awesome thing to look forward to and nodded off to sleep.

An undetermined amount of time later, I heard a small altercation happen in my room.

"What do you mean she was awake?"

"She was awake but still very tired. She went back to sleep an hour or so ago." I guess it had been a little over an hour.

"And you didn't call me?" Any small and inescapable thought about Jacob running off with Bella was gone with hearing the anger in Jacob's voice. I missed that voice.

"She was back asleep before I even thought of calling you, Jacob." Dr. Cullen said softly. Almost a bit condescendingly, this honestly made it funnier in my mind.

"Just go see her, Jake, and stop pestering my father-in-law. Geez!" A bell like voice chastised him. I knew it had to be the one and only Bella. Don't hate her, Ally. Be nice. Don't hate her just because your boyfriend and soul mate was in love with her at some point.

"Jake?" I said softly, yearning to feel his touch again.

"Ally! Baby, I'm here." He came over quickly, held his hand against my cheek and grabbed my left hand with the other.

"Hi." I said lamely.

"Hi." He laughed. I focused my eyes and just as I did, I saw Bella, Dr. Cullen and a small child, who I could only assume was Renesmee, leave the room and I silently thanked them for it as I heard the door shut.

"Jacob. I wish I could….I want to explain…." I didn't even know where to start but Jacob put his hand on my lips.

"Wait, first. I want to tell you something. Something really important, and don't interrupt, okay?" He said softly. I nodded. "Baby, what the Hell were you thinking? Going there alone, to him? Why didn't you ask one of us for help or have us go with you? Do you know what has gone through my head in the last few days? If I had lost you….I literally wouldn't have been able to go on. Literally. The pain that it would put me through. That's why it's pack law to protect each other's imprints. The emotional distress it would put on the pack to have one of us lose our other half would be too much to bear. When I saw you on that bed, dying, parts of me were dying. I need you to trust me. I need you to trust that you can tell me anything or this relationship can't work."

I stared in shock. I couldn't believe the pain that I saw in his eyes. It was heartbreaking. I never, ever wanted to be the cause of that pain. Ever again. To say that I began to get a bit hysterical was probably an understatement. "I'm so sorry, Jacob! He said he had the twins and that he'd kill them if I wasn't alone and I knew he was capable. I just stopped thinking and started running on impulse. I am so sorry! Please forgive me! Please. I love you! Don't leave me! Please, baby! I love you!"

I grasped for any part of him I could reach and that was his upper arm. "Please."

His eyes softened and leaned down to gather me up into his arms. "I'm not leaving, darling. This is it for me. You and me, forever. That's why I was so upset. I need you to want to be with me as much as I want to be with you. Because, Ally, without you….I can't go on."

"I can't either, Jake. I need you," I said, while crying a bit more nosily than I would have liked. He didn't seem to mind. We sat there for awhile, just holding each other and breathing in each others scents after being apart for too long.

"So, how are you feeling? Are you hurt too badly?" Jake asked me in my ear a little bit later.

"No, it's not too bad right now. I'm a little sore, but that's it." I said.

"Are you feeling well enough to scoot over just a little bit?" He said laughing.

"Some pain is well worth it." I said scooting over. Jacob crawled onto my bed and I snuggled right up to his warm body.

"God, Ally. I was so worried. I don't think I've been so scared in my entire life." He said softly. I nodded.

"What happened? After I passed out, I mean? In the cabin?" I asked quietly. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know but it was something that had to be asked.

"The pack and I took care of it. He won't be a problem anymore." Jacob said stiffly. Oh. I should have been sad, I guess, but I wasn't. Not by a long shot.

"Thank you." I said intensely looking straight into his beautiful eyes.

"Anytime." He said, rubbing my arms protectively. I knew that had to have been hard on both him and the other guys but I was glad they were willing to do that for me.

Suddenly, a soft came at the door. "Come in." I said as loudly as I could, which was not very loud.

"How are we doing Miss Ally?" Dr. Cullen asked coming back into my room, followed by what I'm sure was Renesmee and Bella.

"Fine, thank you."

"God, Jake, can't you keep your hands off of the poor girl for like two minutes?" Bella asked. "She's recovering from surgery, you moronic dog."

I smiled. Maybe I would like this Bella girl after all. Her sense of humor was definitely something I could get used to.

"Nope." Jacob said grinning adorably.

Bella shook her head at Jacob's enthusiasm and then addressed her little girl. "Go ahead, Renesmee."

The darling little girl with pale, glowing skin, dark brown curls and chocolate brown eyes who couldn't possibly have been over two years old came prancing over to my side of the bed. "Hello, Aunt Ally. My daddy told me you were sick so I made you a card."

My heart melted. She put a bright pink card on my bedside. I picked it up and examined it. It was beautiful. The first page had my name on it with glitter and markers and inside was a picture of what I presumed was her whole family plus both me and Jacob. It looked too good for a two year old and way to good for a four month old, which I knew was her legitimate age. Jacob had told me it was a vampire thing. "Did you make this yourself?"

"Yes. It's a picture of me, mommy, daddy, Auntie Rosie, Uncle Emmett, Aunt Alice, Uncle Jazzy, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jacob and you. My whole family." This was the second time she had made a reference to me being a part of her family. It felt so good. Who knew this little girl would be able to fill the hole in my heart previously punched out by uncaring relatives. I smiled.

"Thank you, Renesmee. It's beautiful." She beamed. Then she looked at Jacob with intense eyes. He nodded. She looked back at her mother, who nodded also.

"Can I come up, please?" I grinned.

"Sure, definitely there's enough room for my favorite niece." I couldn't quite reach her petite frame over the bars of the bed so Jacob leaned over and picked her up easily, placing her between the both of us.

"Just a warning," Jacob whispered. "It's a bit of a shock the first time."

At first, I was confused, but then, Renesmee put her small hand on top of mine and Jacob's clasped hands and everything became clear. Pictures and emotions infused my mind.

_Jacob calling her mother on the phone, crying. She was worried for him. _

_Her father telling her that Aunt Ally was very sick and that is what made Uncle Jacob upset. She grew concerned for both of us and begged her mom to come with her to see us._

_How long the plane ride lasted. Way to long for her taste._

_Jacob nicknaming her "Nessie". She loved it._

_Meeting me and giving me the card. She had an attachment to me that rivaled mine with her. _

Jacob was right, it was a bit of a shock the first time, but I loved the way she communicated. It was so beautiful and easy to understand with pictures and emotions much clearer than any television screen. I gave her a huge hug. "Thank you, Nessie. That was amazing."

I had to spend a few more days in the hospital before I was allowed to leave, since we were taking a plane home, but luckily I had plenty of people to talk to. Jacob stayed with me the entire time, almost never leaving. He even ate lunch and dinner in my room and slept in my bed with me, which I had to say, felt amazing. The only times he left were when the nurses kicked him out, but even then, he only left for a few minutes and then snuck back in. Dr. Cullen left a few days after I had gotten out of surgery in order to go back to his hospital but both Bella and Renesmee stayed to be with us.

The most insane part about it, though, was that my hospital phone rang off the hook. I swear the pack had probably made an agreement for everyone to call me every hour, and they did it dutifully. And by everyone, I literally mean everyone. I got calls from Sam, Emily, Jared, Kim, Paul, Rachel, Embry, Quil and baby Claire, Seth, Brady, Collin and even Leah! Also, Billy, Mrs. Clearwater, Marissa, Carson, Aunt Beth, Uncle Carl, my cousins Luke and Gianna called as well at least once. The most surprising call however was the one that I received from my new step-mother Siena. My father didn't bother to call, but at least Siena did.

It was nice to be told about the entire goings on in La Push by my friends and what Jacob and I had missed at school the couple of weeks but I couldn't wait to come home and see everyone again. But, most especially, I couldn't wait to get back to my life with some normality. Dr. Cullen had told me that I could go back to rehearsals in a few weeks which was fantastic news, since I knew that scouts from the colleges I had applied to would be calling to set up interviews and a time to watch me dance sometime soon and I had to be ready.

In the last few weeks that I was here, Jacob and I got a real honest to God chance to talk. Even though we'd been together for four months, we still had a lot to learn about each other. Bella was a great help in this department. She had a lot of very interesting anecdotes to share about young Jacob. Including some things about motorcycles before Jacob shut me down and said I couldn't have one because they were too dangerous. Bella and I shared a look that very plainly said "if he doesn't teach you, I will." Note to self: when I was feeling better, a trip to Alaska had to happen.

After I was released from the hospital, Bella drove all four of us to the airport in Eureka, CA. We said our good-byes with promises to see each other soon. Apparently, Bella and Edward were planning to take a trip to Italy in a few months, a vampire thing, I was told. Renesmee was supposed to spend the time they were gone with her Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper but she asked her mom if she could come to La Push and be with us instead. Jacob and I agreed wholeheartedly and Bella was also a fan of the idea. She said the only problem would be convincing her husband to give Nessie to us for a whole month. Jacob grumbled something about "being Nessie's Godfather's gotta mean something" and Bella swatted him on the arm, saying she'd deal with it. Then there was a tiny argument about how Bella's punch hurt and how Jake was a big baby.

We got on the plane without incident and Jacob promptly fell asleep as soon as he sat down. I pulled his head down onto my lap and ran my fingers through his hair. That relaxed me and even though it was only a two hour flight, I fell fast asleep as well.

_Tasha P.O.V. _

It was the second day back at school and I was already sitting alone, again. My freshman, sophomore and junior years revisited. Terrific. Last semester, I sat with my best friend, Ally and all of the boys, including my then boyfriend Embry Call and her boyfriend Jacob Black. But now, nothing. Come to think of it, they weren't even here today. I looked back to our usual table and saw not eight familiar people but three familiar faces and one new face. Seth was there, with Brady and Collin and another young girl I didn't know the name of. She had to be a freshman or sophomore.

"Hey, Tash!" Brady called from a few tables away. "Come sit with us!"

It might be weird. I mean, I had stopped dating Embry a few weeks ago and these were his friends, but he wasn't there and I really didn't want to sit alone. I nodded at the fourteen year old and grabbed my stuff, plopping it down next to Seth.

"Rosie, this is our friend Tasha. Tasha, this is Rosie, she's in our class." Brady introduced. I smiled.

"Nice to meet you. Rosie, that's a pretty name. Is it a nickname for Rose?" I asked, trying to make any attempt at small talk. It was already weird enough sitting here without Jake, Ally or Embry but instead with their friends. I figured that since Rosie was new too, she'd be perfect to talk to.

"Nope. Roslyn." She was quiet. Didn't really offer much information about herself the whole lunch period, but Collin just stared at her, like she was the most beautiful thing ever created. I knew that look, it was the same way Jacob looked at Ally. It was sickening. She apparently was a freshman, not new to the school or the Reservation but had switched her classes around this semester and now had most of her class periods with Collin and Brady.

"So where is….everyone?" I asked. I knew that I meant 'where was Embry?' and the younger boys knew I meant 'where was Embry?' but if they did, they never acknowledged it. Instead they gave each other harsh looks that Rosie didn't notice, but I definitely did.

"No idea." Seth choked out. Really? Yeah, right. They always know where each other is every second of every day. I decided to pull out my phone and text Ally. She'd text back. Her phone was like an extension of her body. No response. Nothing. All day.

Sixth period Dance came and I was not excited. Ally was literally the only reason I had survived this class so far. Not only did I have not a single friend in that class besides her, but I was a dreadful dancer. Ally was, in short, amazing, both in the friend aspect and the dancing aspect. What the Hell was I going to do without her, even if for only a day or two?

As I walked into the locker rooms and prepared to get dressed in those stupid P.E. uniforms we were forced to conform to, I stopped when I heard my name.

"Yeah, you know Tasha Wilder, right?" One of the girls whispered.

"That really smart girl, right? The one who's friends with Allyson Chase?" I rolled my eyes. Of course those were the only two reasons anyone in this school would remember my name. Fantastic.

"Right. The one that Embry Call was dating but then they broke up? Well, my friend Amelia has a younger sister named Dania who had a friend named Marissa. Well, Marissa just moved to California but here's the weird thing. Marissa is Marissa Chase. Allyson's sister. Well, she called up Danielle in tears because…" Her voice dropped to below a whisper. "Ally died. She was murdered a few nights ago. By one of her relatives."

The other girl gasped. I was in shock. That wasn't true. It wasn't true at all, right?

"Yeah. Did you see? Jacob Black, Embry Call and Quil Ateara all aren't here today. Jacob was her boyfriend and that whole group was freakishly close. They're at home in grief." She rationalized.

"But what about Tasha? She was Ally's close friend too. What is she doing here?"

"I'm pretty sure nobody has even thought to tell her. Especially with that nasty break up her and Embry Call had. He can do better, I think."

"Me too. That's too bad. I really liked Ally. I hoped eventually she would be on _So You Think You Can Dance_. Then I would know someone famous, finally."

"Right?" My mind blanked out. All of the pieces fell into place. I hadn't heard from Ally in a few days, but I figured it was because she was still settling in to life at Jacob's house because I hadn't heard from him either. But, I had nothing to discount this theory. Nothing. I grabbed my backpack and ran out of the gym, tears streaming down my face. I had to get out of there. I had to leave. I had to talk to Ally or something. Oh my God. What if she really was dead? I couldn't take it.

I barely heard a voice say, "Tasha? Tasha!"

I just kept running. I made it to the parking lot, but before I got to the car, I couldn't run anymore. I collapsed onto the concrete. I couldn't think or see or breathe. It was all just too much.

"Tasha?" I heard the voice more clearly this time.

"Tasha! What happened? Who hurt you?" I heard Embry's voice come closer and closer to me as he laid his big hands on top of mine. I looked up at his concerned face. If I wasn't so overcome with emotion myself I might have noticed that he looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"I….I just….I'm just having a really hard day…" I cried and with no inhibitions I threw my arms around his neck, crying more than I ever had before in my life. He picked me up with ease and took me over to his car, putting me in the passenger's seat. He then scooted me over to the side of the seat and crawled in next to me. He put his arms around me as I cried for what seemed like ages. When it was physically impossible for me to cry anymore, Embry finally spoke.

"This is about Ally isn't it?" I stared at him with wide eyes and then began crying again, even though I would have thought it impossible.

"She…..was my…..only…..friend. And now…..she's…she's…..oh my God!" I sobbed into his shirt.

"Hey, its okay, its okay." He soothed me, patting my back comfortingly. "Ally's fine. Look, Tasha, sweetie, I have some things to tell you and I need you to listen and trust me, okay?"

**A/N- Dun dun dunnnnn! More to come, but please REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 11

**So, the last few chapters have been pretty intense...now it's time for some fluff! Yay! Have fun!**

Chapter 11

_Ally P.O.V_

"ALLY!" Tasha screamed from the other side of the airport when we arrived a few long days later. I grinned. I hadn't realized how much I missed this friend of mine. I looked to Jacob who also grinned at the dark haired girl's exuberance, let go of my boyfriend's hand and ran toward my best friend as best as I could. I still had some physical reminders of my recent attack and hospitalization. I had a bit of a black eye, a small limp and quite a few stitches on my face and neck. I also had some stitches on my breasts too, but thus far I had kept it a secret. I knew that Jacob and the boys knew that I had been raped, but we never discussed it. I knew that it wasn't because they were insensitive to my issues, but that if any of them thought of me in that predicament they might lose some control.

I thought back to one of the conversations I had with Sam before I left the hospital. He had called to check in on us, just as everyone else had, but he had some other things to say as well. He let me in on some of the interworking emotions of the pack. He spoke about how I was a sister to the pack now, just as Emily, Kim, Rachel, Claire and Tasha were, even though Tasha didn't know it yet. He chastised me, in a very big brother type way saying that any of my "siblings" would have dropped anything to come to my aide if I had asked.

"Hey, lovely!" I said wrapping my arms around my slightly larger best friend. "How are you?"

"How am I? How are you?" She exclaimed, putting me at arms length to take a look at me. A bit self-consciously, I flipped my hair in front of my face to try and hide the outward signs of the abuse. Tasha did not take that as a hint.

"My God." She sighed moving my hair back from my face. Then she grabbed me again in a ferocious hug. "I am so glad you're back! You are never leaving again. Ever. It's been decided."

I laughed. "Believe me; I have no intension of leaving. I just want to be around my friends again, you know? My family."

"It's good to hear that. I need a little sister to irritate." Embry said smiling, coming up behind Tasha.

"Hey, Embry." I giggled.

"Get over here." He said giving me a large hug. Then he leaned into my ear, "If you ever do something like that again, I swear to God, Ally."

I smiled. He said it teasingly, but I knew he spoke for the pack and I knew he was serious. "It's good to see you too, Embry."

"Hey, Embry! Hands off my girlfriend." Jacob teased coming up behind me. He and Embry shared a one-armed man hug as Tasha and Embry walked us out to the car.

"Wait. I have to go to the bathroom. Come with me, Ally?" Tasha winked, just as we were leaving the airport, boys carrying the luggage.

"Sure." I said oddly. I knew that she wanted to talk about….something. But, I had literally no idea what it was, and why it was such a big secret. She knew I told Jacob everything.

"Oh my God, Ally. I know." Tasha exclaimed as we got into the bathroom and she assured no one was in there but us.

"You know what?" I asked dumfounded.

"I know." Tasha leaded on.

I still had no idea what this girl was talking about. "Know what?"

I asked again. She took me by the shoulders and looked me square in the eyes. "I know!"

Oh my God. Oh my God! "Oh my God! You know?"

"I know!" She exclaimed happily.

"Wow! When did he tell you? Was it romantic?" She knew about the imprinting. She had to. Hence why she didn't want to say it in front of the boys. This was total girl talk.

"Well, you know Embry and I broke up a few weeks ago. I just couldn't understand why he wanted to be with me. I mean I'm not gorgeous. I'm pretty smart, but he assured me over and over that he wasn't using me for tutoring. I just didn't know what to do so I just bailed." Yep. I knew. Embry had called me begging me to talk some sense into her but my only advice was to wait it out. Embry was not a fan of that option.

"Anyway, after I heard what had happened to you, at school by the way, I was really upset. The rumors going around were that you had died and I ran off crying. Embry followed me out to my car and told me what really happened. But, besides that, he just made me feel better, you know? It was the first time I realized that maybe he really did just want to be with me because I was me. And then, he told me his….secret. And I just knew, somehow, knew, that he loved me. So, we got back together and have spent like, the last few days attached to each other. It is….it's just…."

"Amazing." We breathed at the same time. The two of us stared at each other, knowing exactly what the other was feeling and thinking. We just stood there, seemingly looking at each other but really just thinking of our guys…our men. It took about two whole minutes of that before we just started busting up laughing and hugging each other.

"I missed you so much!" I exclaimed. Then my tone turned dead serious. "I did something really, really stupid didn't I?"

She looked at me with her brown eyes piercing into mine. "Yeah. I swear to God, Ally. If you had….if something had…" She swallowed hard. "Everyone was going crazy."

I shifted my eyes downward. "Yeah, right."

"No. Really! They were all affected. Embry and Quil wouldn't come to school, they were so upset. Only the younger boys and I went and that's only because the younger boys didn't really understand what could have happened and Embry was trying to keep it from me." She said rolling her eyes. I smiled sadly and put my arm around my best friend.

"Come on. Let's go see our guys. They probably miss our gorgeous faces by now, right?" I joked. She giggled and we walked out arm in arm back to our waiting men.

"Where are we going?" I asked from the backseat of Embry's car. I was leaning up against Jacob who had his big, strong arms around me. "Aren't we going home?"

Jacob leaned down to my ear. "I love that you call my house, home."

I smiled and sunk further into his arms. Yep. This is the best place to be. Right here.

"Oh, you think you're going to be able to just go straight to Jake's? Without Emily personally seeing that you are okay?" Tasha asked laughing.

I laughed. Embry parked the car at Sam and Emily's house and hopped out to open the door for Tasha as Jacob helped me out of the car himself. I grabbed his hand subconsciously, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. It really was. Tasha opened the door revealing a dark house.

"Maybe they are out?" I said curiously.

"Hello?" Jake yelled into the house.

Suddenly the lights all turned on at once, revealing my entire Pack Family crowded in the house with huge smiles on their faces.

"Surprise!" They yelled. I blinked. A welcome home party? For abandoning my Pack Family to run off into danger? Suddenly Jake's voice was in my ear.

"Happy Birthday, honey." Birthday? Birthday! January 5th? January 5th! Oh my God! I was 18 and I didn't even know it!

"Oh my God. Oh my God! You guys!" I yelled and jumped into Jake's arms giving him a huge hug, followed by Tasha, Embry and anybody else I could get my hands on. "You all are so sweet!"

The party was amazing. I had never even had a birthday party! Let alone a surprise birthday party when I didn't even remember it was my birthday. But they all did. How did I get so lucky? Everyone was there, hanging out, playing games, joking around just like everything was back to normal. I should have known something was coming.

"Ally." I was sitting on the couch next to Tasha when Jake's dad came rolling over to us.

"I'm going to go talk to, uh, um….Embry. That's right. I'm going to find Embry. Excuse me." Tasha said, as fast as I had ever heard her talk. I grabbed her arm as she jumped up.

"Don't leave me!" I hissed. Even though I had been dating Jake for four months, I wasn't very comfortable with his dad. I mean, he was a tribal elder. Such a respected man in this society and I was somehow supposed to be eloquent and worthy of his only son's love? How on Earth was I going to manage that? He had to hate me, I mean really, really hate me. I had hurt his son. So badly. He honestly had every right to kick me out of his reservation and his son's life. Tasha smiled supportively at me and hopped off to find her boyfriend. Where was my boyfriend when I needed him? We sat in silence for a few moments. Obviously, the rules of social context, I was supposed to speak first, but I was rotted to the core. I knew what I did was wrong. I was ashamed of what I did. But, the way Mr. Black looked at me, made me feel like it was the dumbest move I'd ever made. And, truth be told, it was. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I hadn't realized what was going on around me. There were eighteen people at my party: Mr. Black, Mrs. Clearwater, Chief Swan Sam, Emily, Jared, Kim, Paul, Rachel, Embry, Tasha, Jacob, Quil, Leah, Seth, Brady, Collin and myself, however when somehow the rest of the people got the signal there was some kind of meeting happening here most had made themselves scarce. Kim, Rachel, Tasha, Quil, Seth, Brady, Collin, Mrs. Clearwater and Chief Swan left the area, presumably to go outside or something. Leaving me, alone on the couch with Mr. Black sitting across from me. Emily, amazing soul that she was, came and sat next to me. However, what was really confusing was the way that everyone else in the room was positioned, tense and unmoving, including Jake. Sam and Jake were flanking Mr. Black on either side, with Jared and Paul lined up behind Sam and Embry and Leah behind Jake. I felt a bit….actually, I felt more intimidated than I ever had been before. I always thought I was fearless…I was wrong. Even though Jake's face was stone, just like Sam and the rest of them, his eyes told me something. It was like they literally spoke to me and said "it's okay. I love you."

"Allyson Savannah Chase." Mr. Black started. My head snapped up. Did he just full name me? "You are important. Not only to my son, your imprint, but to our tribe. As you can tell, the hierarchy of the Pack is here. Sam, the Alpha Male and Emily, his Alpha Female." Emily put her hand gently on my leg to stop my shaking. Shaking from pure nerves, I assure you. "along with Jared, his 1st and Paul, his 2nd. Jacob is the Beta of the Pack, with Embry as his 1st and Leah as his 2nd. But, you, are the Pack's chosen Beta Female. While Emily is responsible for the well being and protection of her pack brothers and sisters, the last to get into the fight and the first to protect others from it by being a pillar of strength to all around her, your path, if you chose to accept it, lies in another direction. You are the heart, the soul of the tribe. The passion and the love stem from your being. Without you, the Pack holds itself together, yet does not succeed. You are the glue that holds your brothers and sisters together. You are important. You are special." My head dropped. He obviously had the wrong girl. I'd never been special to anyone. I was a doormat for my mother, a punching bag for my stepfather, an added, unwanted extra to my father and a necessary parental figure to my siblings. I wasn't special. Unknowingly, my eyes began filling with shameful tears. He had me confused with another, stronger, braver girl. He had to. Seemingly reading my conflicted mind, Mr. Black outstretched his large, tan hand to my cheek and wiped away the falling tears. "Whether you want to believe it or not."

"I think you have the wrong girl." I whispered.

"I don't think your brothers and sisters think I do." I looked to Emily, who also had tears running down her cheeks and looked to the six wolves behind Mr. Black. They were all still stone faced. Why wasn't my supposed imprint coming to my rescue here? I stared him in the eyes. His face was still unchanging but his eyes spoke volumes. Sam must have a wolf like gag order on him. I could practically feel his aching to be near me, which gave me the final bit of strength I needed. I took a deep breath, squared my jaw, looked Mr. Black straight in the eye and said, loudly, clearly and passionately without any hesitation. "I accept. We all have our parts to play, don't we?" I smirked.

Mr. Black stared at me, finally breaking into a huge smile. "Well, that's the daughter I know and love, isn't it?"

I gasped. Daughter? It finally connected that this entire time, Mr. Black had been referring to me as a daughter and sister of the tribe. Was it possible I had found a better family than the one I had to leave behind? A family that cared for me as much as I did them? I threw caution to the wind. I got up and threw my arms around the man who I firmly believed would be my father in law someday and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Come on, sister." Emily said grabbing my hand. "Let's clean up your face and let the guys have a meeting with everyone else on today's developments."

I nodded, sending a last, longing look to my boyfriend, who sent me a smirk and then walked upstairs with Emily. "Where are all the other girls?"

"Oh, they went home. We'll fill them in later." Emily said, pulling me into the bathroom where I got a look at myself in the mirror.

"Oh. My. God. I look hideous!" I exclaimed, hopping up on the counter to get a better look at myself. My cheeks were stained with tears, the bruise on my eye darker than ever and the cut on my cheek glistened underneath the stitches. Emily grabbed my face with her hands firmly.

"You are beautiful." She said kissing me on the head.

I sniffed. "What is it with you and making me cry, Emily?"

"It's a gift." She said, letting go of my face. "Besides, your boyfriend loves you, regardless of a few small stitches."

"Where are the guys going?" I asked nonchalantly. Like I somehow thought that Emily wouldn't see through my pathetic mask of non-caring.

"There are going to have a pack meeting. Oh! I forgot to ask you. Sam and I were actually planning on leaving to the Makah Reservation to visit my brother Ethan, sister in law, Wendy, Cami and Claire. But I just have so many plants I don't want to leave alone. Could you housesit for us?" She said winking. She was leaving us her house? So that we could be alone. I laughed.

"Sure, that's no problem," I said quickly. "I don't have anywhere else to be."

"Great! Thanks, hun. We really appreciate it."

"No problem." I yawned.

"Tired?" Emily asked.

"No…" I lied.

"Liar." She laughed. "Get off to bed. You can use the upstairs guest room."

"Maybe just a small nap…"

I woke up to the warm sun beating down on my face through the large window next to the unfamiliar bed I was currently lying in. I glanced at the clock next to me. 8:14a.m? I'd been asleep for over 16 hours? I rolled over to the other side of the bed, hoping that….no. It was just me here. Come to think of it, I hadn't actually spoken to my boyfriend in days. I mean we had been together during my party but I was still recovering. _I_ hadn't spoken to my boyfriend. Weird and tired Ally had been with him the last week. It's a wonder he wasn't here. Who'd want to be with me right now?

I got up out of bed and looked down. I was in black yoga pants and a bright pink sports bra. No wonder I was so comfortable. Is that how I had fallen asleep yesterday? I honestly didn't remember. I walked over to the adjacent bathroom and splashed water on my face. When I looked up I was again disgusted with what I saw. My cuts and bruises were getting much better, but the stitches on my breasts, which I could see clearly in this bra, were bruised and ugly. I sighed and walked out of the bathroom and the room toward the kitchen. Was that….coffee? And….bacon? No way.

I snuck into the kitchen through the back way and got a perfect sight in front of my eyes. My perfect boyfriend, shirtless and in boxers, cooking breakfast for both of us. I snuck behind him, even though I knew his wolf senses would have heard or felt me coming and wrapped my arms around his waist, snuggling up to his back. He turned around and wrapped his arms around my body soundlessly, pulling me close to him, sighing.

"When was the last time I told you that I love you?" He asked huskily, breathing in my scent as much as I was breathing in his. I looked up.

"Yesterday?" I guessed.

"Wow, I am really lacking aren't I?"

"I love you." I said staring into his eyes.

"Ally. I love you more than I could ever explain. You are everything to me." He said and I swear I heard a tinge of emotion and pride in his voice as his eyes bore into mine. "And I am so proud of you."

"Proud of me? For what?"

"For being the Beta Female. For being strong, passionate and the love of my life." I moved my hands up his bare torso, to the back of his neck and pulled his face toward me and kissed him with everything I had. There was that damn electric current again. All around us. It was electrifying.

"You are so mushy." I said giggling while we broke apart.

"Oh really?"

"Yep."

"Oh really?"

"Yep."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. Hey!" I yelled as Jake took a pinch of flour and threw it on my face as he laughed uproariously. "Why you little—"

I tried to grab the bag of flour from his hands, but he was too strong and it split apart at the seems, sending me hurling to the ground, ass first, while the kitchen rained flour. Jake looked at me concerned while I just began laughing. A lot.

"Are you okay, honey?" He asked laughing as well.

"Yeah, yeah. Help me up, dork." I posed myself for my next move. I put my feet flat on the ground grabbed Jake's outstretched hand and used it to catapult myself onto his back, like a piggy back ride. I held him tightly and bit his ear slightly. "I love you" another bite "and thanks."

"For what?"

"Being here with me."

**A/N- AWWWW...they are so adorable! Ummmm...so, REVIEW PLEASE! KThanks!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Okay guys, last one for tonight. We're winding up on this portion of the 3-part story. High School is almost over for them. (Sniff, Sniff)**

Chapter 12

_Tasha P.O.V._

"Is it here? Is it here? Is it here? Is it here?" Ally exclaimed as she ran into the house she lived in with her boyfriend, Jacob, after cheer practice this fateful April afternoon. Embry, Jake and I were already there waiting. It was senior night, just the four of us. Jacob's father was in Forks with his best friend Chief Charlie Swan so the "party" was at Jake's house. And by party…I meant nervous breakdown. Jake and Embry had already decided to stay in La Push, so they weren't on the pins and needles Ally and I were, staring at the envelopes in front of us.

"It's here. Are you ready to do this?" I asked her. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Yes." We looked at each other and scrambled for the envelopes. I picked up Stanford first and she picked up UofK. Embry massaged my shoulders while Jake put his arms around Ally.

"I got in. But, it's not a good offer. It's only a 25% scholarship to be on their Cheer Team. No dance. You?"

"I got accepted. But no scholarship."

We both sighed and picked up the next envelope. I picked up Yale and she picked up BYU.

"Full ride!" She exclaimed. "Full ride!"

She leaned over and gave Jake a big hug, but I saw it in her eyes. She was waiting for the last one. NYU, her baby. Just like I was waiting for that Berkeley letter.

"I got into Yale! 50% scholarship."

"Babe! That's amazing!" Embry exclaimed hugging me tight. It really was. I mean, Yale would be amazing….but Berkeley was my dream.

"Last one." Ally said shaking. I gulped. "Hey! Look at me, really quick." She said, voice strengthening.

"Yeah?" I said, my voice reducing in volume.

"We are sisters. We are important. And we can do this." She said putting her fist out to bump it. And, even though what she said was simple, it was profound and I had a strange will to listen to her. Maybe it was a Beta thing? We picked up our last envelopes.

"Good luck." I said. I opened the envelope. Oh. My. God. Oh My God! "Oh My God! Full ride!"

I screamed and jumped into my boyfriends waiting arms. UC Berkeley full ride…with a stipend.

Ally squealed from beside me. "Full ride and acceptance to NYU Dance program!"

"Congratulations, baby!" Jake said, picking her up and swinging her around. When our guys put us down and gave each other a man hug as we pounced on each other.

"I'm so proud of you, Ally!" I exclaimed.

"Not as proud as I am of you, Tash! Berkeley! In California!"

"What about you? Going to New York!"

We continued screaming and squealing and hugging for what seemed like hours. I was surprised our boyfriends stuck around but I guess that was an imprint thing. Sharing in our over exuberant excitement.

At about 2 a.m., Embry offered to take me home. Somehow, I knew what was going to happen before it did. I knew the second that Embry dropped me off, the shit was about to hit the fan. I know that sounds crazy, but somehow, I just knew.

I snuck into my house quietly, knowing no one would be up. Boy, was I wrong.

"Latasha Mykell Wilder!" My dad screamed from the recliner chair. Wake up the whole neighborhood, why don't you?

"Yes, Daddy?" I asked quietly.

"What is a little bitch like you doing home so late?" Super. It was going to be one of those nights.

"Dad, I was just at Ally's house studying. No big deal."

"No you weren't you little brat! I know you were with that Call kid! The one who is always disappointing his mother and never coming home! People talk, Latasha and do you know what they are saying about you? They are saying you are out with him and that you are going to get yourself pregnant. Is that what you want bitch? To be a little pregnant bitch? Get out."

"What?" I said carefully and quietly.

"Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! I don't want you in this house!" My dad screamed at me. I had two choices at this point. This was by no means the first time he had said this. With my mom on her constant business trips, it was just me and him, and his temper often got a bit out of control. So, choice number one, I could stay. Like I'd done a million times before or, choice number two, I really could leave. The only problem was that there was nothing to say he wouldn't just come drag me out of wherever I hid. But would he? I mean, he really didn't care. He didn't work; he just sat in his chair thinking about ways to torture me. Suddenly, my arms began hurting really badly below the elbow, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked down to see my dad's fingers, clasping hard around my arms. That was sure to leave a bruise. "DID YOU HEAR ME? GET OUT!"

He screamed at me again and pushed me towards the door. I tripped, falling backwards, flat on the ground. Get up, Tasha. I willed myself. Get up. I made it up and to my room. I grabbed my backpack and put some essentials quickly into a duffel bag. By the time I got back from my room to leave, my father was passed out on the couch. Ten bucks saying he would not remember this in the morning. I didn't care. I was leaving and not turning back.

The La Push Reservation, that I had lived on all of my life, was only about 5 miles in diameter and was shaped like an "L" with First Beach in the middle of everything. And though there was very little crime as far as I was aware, it still probably wasn't safe to be just wandering around at 3 a.m., and I didn't have a car. Unfortunately, Embry, Sam and Emily, Quil and Jake, Ally and Rachel all lived on the opposite side of the Reservation. About 5 miles away. Besides, I couldn't go to Embry's for a few reasons. First of all, he would just freak out and second, my father was right. Embry had told me countless times that his home life had been rough since he had phased. Think Tasha. Where could I go? I really hadn't made any friends here. Ever. I was kind of a social outcast until Ally had come along. Very suddenly, a voice appeared in my head.

_Find one of your brothers. _

Was that Emily? Brother? I don't have a brother. I was an only child with a father who didn't approve of me and a mother who was never around. Maybe I shouldn't have left.

_Be brave. You are a sister of the pack. You are important. _

I whirled around. Ally? I was sure that was her voice in my head. I had to have been going crazy.

_Find one of you brothers._

There was Emily's voice again. Of course! Why hadn't I thought of this before? Paul and Jared's apartment was only about a half mile from here. But, I didn't really know them. I mean, obviously I had talked to them a few times and I knew Kim and Rachel pretty well, but they still lived at home with their parents. At least, Paul and Jared's apartment would be a refuge until I could figure something out, because, unlike when Ally moved away, I had no car and no credit card that was burning a hole in my pocket. I was alone.

I walked the half mile to the only apartment complex on the reservation in silence. Oh crap, which one was it? What did Rachel say again? Oh right! I remember thinking it was funny because it was like 24/7. 247. I went up the stairs slowly, as my leg still hurt from falling on the ground earlier. I stood at the step, motionless, for about 3 minutes before finally working up the courage to knock.

It was 3 a.m., what was I thinking? Of course, they wouldn't answer! Most people would be asleep. Most normal people, that is. I knocked a few more times and then decided to stop trying. This was a lousy idea anyway.

"Tasha?" Paul said groggily while opening the door. "Is that you?"

I stared, unblinking for a moment, unsure of what to say, until the nights previous events just came flooding back at me like a huge ocean wave, crashing onto my subconscious. And, I did something I hadn't done in more that ten years. I just broke down crying with full flooded tears, streaming down my face. Where was my strong woman attitude when I needed it?

"Come here." Paul said, grabbing me from where I was rooted to the spot on his doorstop and giving me a bone crushing hug. I hugged him back as fiercely as I could. He directed me to the couch and plopped me down, sitting next to me. "What on Earth is going on?"

I looked at him wide eyed. Did I tell him the truth? Or leave it alone and just say I was having a bad day? I couldn't decide, so I just kept crying. That would buy me some time.

"Tasha. It's okay. You can tell me. We're family." There was that word again….family. "Was it Embry? Because he's cool and everything, but sometimes he can be a bit of a dick."

I snorted through the tears. "No. But, if I tell you what happened, you can't tell anyone. No one. Especially Embry. He would just freak out."

Paul looked concerned but nodded his consent. I stood up from the couch and stood in front of him, rolling up the sleeves of my light pink sweater, revealing ugly bruises on my forearms. Paul jumped up to stand in front of me, drawing up to his full height. How tall was he anyway?

"Tasha. Did Embry do this to you?" He asked fiercely. I immediately began shaking my head.

"No." I sighed and gulped. "It was my….my father."

I felt the hands that he had on top of my bruises lightly, begin to shake. I began to backtrack. "Paul. I'm okay. I promise. He just, just got angry. He thought…it doesn't even matter."

I saw Paul take a few breaths to contain himself while Jared walked out of his room yawning. "Paul… what's … oh, Tasha. Hi. Um … why do we have company at ….. 3:27 a.m.?"

"I, just, I really need somewhere to crash tonight. Could I….?" I started.

"Of course. Our casa, is your casa, or whatever." Jared said yawning as he walked back into his room.

"Take my bed." Paul said.

"Paul, I can sleep on the couch or the floor. I'm perfectly low maintenance." I started.

"Do you know what Embry would do to me if I let you sleep on the floor?" Paul said smirking.

I giggled but soon my expression turned serious. "You can't tell him. Please, Paul, promise me! I'm going to deal with it. I'll go to the tribe elders' tomorrow morning. Just please, let me handle it first."

"Tasha, you know it's almost impossible to keep secrets. Besides, if something like this was happening to Rachel and Embry didn't tell me," he gulped. "I would be really upset."

I gave him the puppy dog eyes. No man could resist them. "Please."

He relented. "Fine. I'll give you 48 hours to tell him and then I will."

"Thank you." I shot him a small, half smile and kissed his cheek. He nodded and pointed at the room across from where Jared came out of.

"Room is in there. Goodnight." He said gruffly.

"Night."

"Tasha! I'm just wondering why you didn't talk to me about this first!" Embry yelled. This was going to be a long day. I had stuck to my word with Paul and had told the Tribal Elders about my predicament with my father and then had told Embry, who was incredibly supportive and didn't fly off the handle. At least in front of me. In the last week, my father had left the Reservation as fast as a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. My mother used this as an excuse to start the divorce papers with my father; however felt no obligation to stick around here. So, like the nice guys they were, Paul and Jared offered to let me move in with them until I left for California in September… hence, the fight commencing now with Embry.

"Embry! I don't get why this is such a big deal! They are helping me not be homeless!"

"It isn't about that, Tasha! It's about you not telling me!"

"I wasn't purposely not telling you! I've just had a lot of thing to deal with lately!"

"I could help you with it!"

"I know and you've been great! But, that's not the problem here is it? It's that I'm moving in with your best friends!"

"It's. Not. About. That!" Embry said through gritted teeth.

"Do we have to do this here?" I asked him looking next to me. Jake and Ally were sitting at the lunch table with us, with raised eyebrows, looking like they were watching a table tennis match.

"Yes! I want to get this sorted out, Tasha!"

"What is there to sort out, Embry? I don't want to be homeless before I leave for college and Jared and Paul offered to let me live with them!"

"Oh and it's just because they are that nice, right?"

"Right!"

"Oh really?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, really?" He said again, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"YES! What is the real problem here? You are being such an ass!" I yelled.

"Tasha, maybe you should quiet it down a little…" Ally started at the same time Jake said, "Embry, why don't you take this somewhere else…"

"SHUT UP!" We shouted at the same time to our respective best friends. It actually defused the tension a bit. We both smirked and I went across the table to sit next to him.

"I just don't want to share you." Embry told me quietly. "I wish you would move in with me. Just like Ally did with Jake."

"Embry, you know we can't do that. You still live with your mom…and she hates me just a bit." I said sarcastically. Truth be told, she hated me a lot. "You don't want your girl to be homeless do you?"

"No….I'm sorry for getting angry."

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. But think about it this way…when your mom kicks you out, as she often does, you could sneak into my room." Jared and Paul were now sharing a bedroom to give me my own. They really were being incredibly sweet and gracious about the whole thing.

"I could do that." Embry said, pulling me in for a kiss that I readily returned.

"You kind of want to fight now to make up don't you?" Jake asked Ally, who was watching our impromptu make-out session jealously. Ally nodded with pouty lips.

_Ally P.O.V._

"Here, Billy. Let me help you with that!" I said as I opened the door to see him struggling to get a bowl from the top shelf. I dropped my dance bag at the door and went over to get it.

"Thanks darlin'." He said as I handed it over to him.

"No problem. Where's, Jake?" I asked while looking around the house.

"Oh, he already left with the other guys. He said, and I quote 'He didn't want to be anywhere near here when all the girls got here'." I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"Of course. Thanks again for letting us use the house tonight. I really appreciate it."

"No problem at all, Ally. You have lived here for almost 5 months. A girl's night is well earned." I laughed again and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks. I'm going to go change and get the stuff ready for tonight."

"I'll be out of here in about 30 minutes."

"That's cool. No one will be here for another hour or so. I didn't know when dance would end today." I skipped over to my room, well, me and Rachel's room and put my bag down, unpacking it. It was the end of May, meaning graduation was in just a few short days; hence, the reason for tonight's girls' night, to wipe the stress away before both Tasha and my impending graduation. As I opened my drawer to pull out my sweatpants and tank top (no need to get dressed up with no boys around) I noticed a small folded up note wrapped around my hairbrush. I shook my head, laughing. What a dork.

_**Ally,**_

_**Have a great time at your girls' night tonight. Keep your phone around. I don't want to be without you all night. I kinda, sorta, maybe will miss you a lot. **_

_**I love you.**_

_**Jake **_

I sighed and grabbed my phone, putting it on loud.

"Bye, Allyson!" Billy yelled from the door. I ran out of the room and stuck my head around the hallway only to see Chief Swan here to pick him up.

"Bye, Billy. Have a great time! You'll take care of him right, Chief Swan?" I teased.

"I don't need anybody." Billy complained, with a twinkle in his eye.

"So difficult." Chief Swan said.

"I completely agree. Just like his son."

"Bye, Ally." Billy said wheeling out down the ramp. "Don't burn the house down, will you?"

I giggled. "I'll try my best."

The two men left and I went to the kitchen to start setting out the large quantities of sodas and junk food we would be consuming while waiting for my guests. Emily, Rachel, Kim and Tasha would all be coming for the spa extraordinaire as I was calling it.

"Hey Ally." Rachel said while walking in with Kim and Tasha.

"Hey guys! Were you all together at the apartment?" Tasha nodded.

"Yep. Rachel and Kim were already there when I got home so we just came over together." She explained.

"So, did you hear that Collin spilled the beans to Rosie last night?" Kim said while helping herself to a Mountain Dew from the fridge.

"No way!" I exclaimed. "They are so young!"

It was true. Rosie and Collin were just finishing their Freshman year. That seemed like such a heavy thing to tell a 14 year old.

"Yeah. But, Paul said she took it pretty well but that apparently she just wants to be friends for the time being. I guess her parents always asked her to wait until she was 16 to start dating and she wants to stick to that." Rachel said plopping down on the couch.

"That's really sweet. I mean, she's only 2 years older than my siblings and the whole imprinting thing is really intense." I said thinking about the feelings I get when I'm near Jake.

"Yeah, I invited her to come tonight. I hope you don't mind." Kim said offhandedly.

"No problem. The more the merrier. Where's Emily?"

"She just texted me awhile ago and said she was on her way and had big news to share." Kim said.

Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. That's weird. No one knocks. Ever. Even when certain people are taking a shower and others just barge in and go pee. Let's just say Jake might have had some choice words for Paul after that little incident.

I looked around curiously and the other girl's faces mirrored mine. "I'll get it, I guess."

"Hi." Rosie said as I opened the door. She looked so nervous. I guess I kind of understood where she was coming from. She was fourteen and going to a sleepover party with Tasha and I, who were seniors, Kim who was 19, Rachel who was 21 and Emily who was 22.

"Hi, Rosie!" I said giving the girl a large hug. "Hey, girls, Rosie is here."

"Hey Rosie!" They all shouted from the Living Room where they had all began pulling out my extensive amounts of nail polish.

"Come on in! Oh, and just so you know; no one knocks here. Literally everyone just waltzes in….wherever they want." I said slightly bitterly.

"Oh, come on, Ally! He already apologized and Jake beat him down. What more do you want?" Rachel said. I laughed.

"I know. I was just kidding." I said laughing. Then I leaned down to Rosie's ear, "But, they really do, so watch out."

She looked at me confused, trying to figure out whether she was supposed to laugh or not. Emily's sudden arrival in the room saved her from having to say anything.

"We set a date!" She said barging into the room. "Everyone clear December 18th."

Everyone shouted their congratulations and hugs were given all around. "So you finally got him settled down, eh, Emily?" Rachel teased.

Emily swatted her on the arm and laughed. Oh yeah, this was going to be a great night. I loved my girls!

**A/N- Okay, broken record time. Please review. Please, please, please, please REVIEW**


	14. Intermission Part II

**Okay everyone, here's the beginning of PART 2 of the story! All may not be wonderful in Jake/Ally land...**

Intermission

He looked terrible. Gaunt. He had lost weight and gotten paler, like he hadn't been outside in months. Two months, probably. I couldn't believe that something I had done or said had done this to the one I loved. All those times he had been there for me, with all my family drama and my stupidity in following that drama to a fault. How did I let something come between what we had? Especially something he had no control over. I knew that. I knew that, and yet, I hurt him anyways. I felt like the worst human being on the planet. More importantly though, I felt like the worst Imprint on the planet.

Emily had left. After Sam lost his control with her and caused those scars on her face. But, she had come back within 6 hours. 6 hours and he had caused her permanent damage! Kim had left. After Jared told her about the whole Werewolf thing and she had freaked, but she was back in 2 hours. Rachel hadn't expected to imprint on the most volatile member of the pack, but she never left. Never. Her and Paul were completely stable. Tasha had broken up with Embry, but that was before she knew the big secret. After that they had been perfect. Rosie had taken the whole secret in stride, and though she didn't want to date Collin at the time, it wasn't because she didn't have feelings for him; it was because they were only fifteen! And, even though they weren't together, they were the best of friends. They told each other everything.

So why was I so weak? Jacob caused me no physical pain that he could control and I hadn't freaked out about the supernatural thing at all at first. So what was my problem? Why did I leave him? And why the fuck was it for two months! Why did something that had been explained, shake everything that I thought I knew? Why did I let it? I guess I just had to hope, that he felt it in his heart to forgive me. I had to hope that what I did to him wasn't irreversible. And, I guess, I had to do what I had previously been afraid to do. What had caused this whole mess in the first place…I had to swallow my stupid insecurities and stupid pride and take a leap of faith that Jacob wouldn't leave me again. But, more importantly, I had to hope that he knew I would never leave him again.

**A/N- I'm going to put up a few chapters today. Please review! Your reviews are the best part of my day and keep me writing! Like it? Review it! Love it? Review it more! Haha.- Cosmo Girl**


	15. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_Alice P.O.V. _

_"A Coven of this size cannot be allowed to exist, Aro. They're numbers are now up to 10. No Coven beside ours have ever been that large."_

_"But, with so many gifts in one Coven, they will be hard to destroy. They have just added another gifted one to their ranks."_

_"Maybe we should elicit the help of others?"_

_"Others? Do we think our guard cannot handle it themselves?"_

_"I think that possibly we could cash in a favor from one of our old friends."_

_"The metamorph?"_

_"Yes, we saved her from distinction once. It's her turn to pay up."_

_"Agreed."_

_"Agreed."_

_"Well, call her in. No human can escape her certain brand of charms..."_

"Alice? What do you see?" My husband Jasper asked me, pulling me from my vision.

"A Meta. The Volturi are eliciting the help of a Meta." I said foggily.

"A Metamorph?" Edward asked coming into the room. "I thought they were extinct a long time ago."

"Apparently, she owes them a favor of some kind and they are cashing it in now." I said.

"Why?" Carlisle asked. "What have we done to deserve their wrath?"

"Our size." Bella added. "It has to be. We have 9 now, with me and Renesmee."

"But they don't know about her." Rosalie said protectively.

"True. However, I agree." Edward said, rubbing Bella's arm absently.

"Sorry to interrupt, but, what is a Meta? I've never heard of one." Jasper said.

"A Meta is a being with immense powers. Besides the ability to change their appearance a will, most have an additional power as well. It ranges, just as our own do." Carlisle clarified. In my years in this way of life I had never met a Meta before. I was pretty sure that only Edward, Esme and Carlisle had met one. Possibly Rosalie as well.

"The Meta we met many years ago could change the mind of any human she met. Immensely powerful." Edward added.

"…and a total bitch." Rosalie sniggered. "She kept trying to get Carlisle to love her, but we are immune to her charms."

"Yes, well, we don't really have to discuss that, do we?" Carlisle said, putting his arms around Esme.

"Why would they send her to destroy us though? If we are immune?" Esme asked. I couldn't answer. I was plagued with another vision.

_"Welcome back to Volterra, Michelina."_

_"Thank you, Aro, Caius, Marcus. I am honored to be back."_

_"You look different than before." _

_"You know me. Never the same person twice."_

_"Of course, of course. We require your talents."_

_"Anything I can do to repay you for my life."_

_"We hoped you would see it that way."_

_"There is a Coven that grows to large for our comfort."_

_"We need you to help dispose of them."_

_"I am more than happy to help with anything you need, but, you know as well as anyone that my talents do not work on Vampires."_

_"They are a special breed of Vampires."_

_"They choose to associate themselves with countless humans."_

_"We are sure you can find a way to dispose of them."_

_"And…if you fail. We may need to find a way to dispose of you."_

_"Of course, we know that you won't fail."_

_"As you command."_

_"Their last known position was in…."_

"Alice? Alice?" The vision went dark and I snapped back to reality.

"She's there." I said simply. "In Volterra. It has begun."

_Ally P.O.V _

"It is way too hot! Isn't this supposed to be, like, the wettest place in the world?" I complained leaning on my boyfriends shoulder on the first beach, watching the tide change. It was late August and we were spending as much time together as humanly possible. It was only a few short weeks until I would board a plane to New York City and leave this reservation and half of my heart along with it.

"Oh, come on, don't you love the heat? I mean, you are with me and I'm the hottest guy around here." Jake said cockily.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." I said sarcastically. "You are so funny."

"I know." He said.

"Oh, you know, huh?" I asked smirking.

"Yep."

"You know, huh?"

"Yep."

"Oh yeah?" I asked rolling over on top of him. He looked surprised at first but then definitely agreed with it.

"Mmm hmmm…" He sighed, pushing the brown hair out of my face.

"You're right though. The hottest guy around by far." I said, holding myself up by putting my arms on the sides of his body.

"108 degrees, babe." He murmured. I laughed slightly and our lips met with the electric current I had come to expect from my loving boyfriend. He put his arms around my body and drew his fingertips up my bare stomach. Then he grabbed my hips and rotated us over so that he was now on top of me.

"Jake."

"Hmmm…?"

"What are you doing?" I asked giggling as I felt his mouth sucking on my neck and his teeth gently biting as well.

I couldn't quite hear what he said, but I was pretty sure it was something to the effect of "having a snack." I giggled. This was perfect.

"It's us against the world, honey. You and me." Jake said quietly as he lifted his lips up to my mouth and kissed me there, then returned to his "snack".

"Ummm…excuse me?" A small Australian accented voice interrupted us from our little corner of the world. We both looked at each other and realized that we were in a public place. Jake scrambled up and pulled me up with him as well, placing his hand on back as he often did when we were together. A small but subtle reminder that we were both taken.

In front of us stood a tall, skinny, blonde haired and blue eyed beauty. And by beauty, I meant beauty. I knew that I was pretty but she was beautiful. Like Bella status beautiful. There was literally nothing wrong with her at all. I couldn't help but immediately feel threatened by her.

"Hello. My name is Valerie Masters. I'm new to town and I was looking for the tribal offices. I'm the new secretary." Okay, of course, so besides being ridiculously gorgeous, she had an Australian accent? Just. My. Luck.

"Sure. It's actually just down the road a little bit. On Wilabander Road." Jake said politely, while holding out his large hands for her to shake. "I'm Jacob Black and this is my girlfriend, Ally Chase."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Black? That is so interesting; I'm supposed to be working for a Billy Black."

"That's my dad. He's one of the Tribal Elders." Valerie giggled a high pitched charming laugh.

"Oh, well, what a coincidence that I met you here!" Oh yeah, what a coincidence. Something about her totally rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know what it was, but something kind of made me hate her. "Well, it was a pleasure. I'm sure I'll see you two around."

She sauntered off, perfectly, what more could I expect. However, right before she left she shouted back to us, "As you were."

I lowered my head and my cheeks reddened. Jake pulled me closer and rubbed my shoulders. "So, she was very nice."

"Oh, yeah. Very sweet." I willed myself not to think about her anymore. Besides, what were the chances I was actually going to see her again. I was leaving in three weeks, what's the worst that could happen?

"We're home!" Jake exclaimed as we walked back into the house hand in hand about 6 hours later.

"In here, kids. And we have company." Billy's voice wafted from the kitchen. We looked at each other curiously and walked in. There we saw Billy, Charlie, Sam, Emily, Rachel, Paul and….Valerie?

"Hi, everyone. Hi, Valerie." I said cautiously taking one of the only two empty chairs at the table. One was between Valerie and Emily and another between Sam and Paul. I couldn't explain it, but something about Valerie made me not want to take that open seat, it made me want to be as far away from her as possible, so I sat between Sam and Paul.

"Oh, my goodness. I've just felt so welcomed here. I mean, I've been in town a day and your already inviting me over for supper? That is just so sweet. I am so lucky." Valerie spoke up during dinner. Rachel patted her on the arm.

"We have a really good sense about people. It only took a few days for Ally to integrate into our group as well after she moved here."

"Oh! You're new here as well?" Valerie said perkily.

"I moved here from California a year ago." I said simply.

"That's great. I'm sure you have loads of things to share with a new girl like me." She said smiling brightly. She really was being very nice. Why did I dislike her? God, I am such a bitch.

"Sure. Anytime."

"Well, anytime in the next few weeks." Paul muttered darkly. I shoved him to the side.

"Thanks for the support, bro." I said smirking. He winked but looked back to his dinner, inhaling it like always.

"Few weeks?" She asked and I swear to God I saw here eyes twinkle slightly. "Are you leaving?"

I looked to both sides of me for support. Nothing. "Yes, I'm leaving for NYU in just a bit."

"Congratulations! That is amazing. NYU is a difficult school to get into, yes?" The Australian asked me and I swear she was probing.

"Yes. I had to go through a lengthy audition process to get into the dance program." I said. She smirked.

"Well, that is very excellent. I'm sure everyone here will miss you, oh, so much." About 6 hours ago, I would have said of course. However, right now, I was feeling incredibly insecure and I had no idea why. Was Jake looking at her? Ugh! Stop being paranoid. I looked back to my food and tried to tune out the rest of the conversation as best as possible.

"Okay girls, as one of your exiting captains, I want to tell you how proud I am of you. This is the first year that the Tribal School has had a Cheer Team and I believe that our teamwork has excelled. Especially, with half at one school and half at the other and as Hailey, Danielle and myself leave you; we know that we are leaving the squad in good hands. And, we'll be back to see how you all are doing." I said to the 14 girls sitting around me as I said my goodbyes.

"So, as Hailey and my last duty as Captains, we'll read out the votes for this year's Captains. Hailey, would you like to do the first one?"

"Sure, Ally. Okay so, the votes are in for the La Push Co-Captain. Miss Tara Misrell!" The squad clapped as Tara came up and stood next to me.

"Alright, and representing Forks High as Co-Captain is Miss Sierra Hough!" She popped up excitedly and came up to stand next to Hailey.

"Good luck, girls. We are so proud of everything you've become." Hailey, Danielle and I left the practice as we heard Tara and Sierra leading stretches and getting the practice started.

"So, ready to leave in a few days, with no attachments?" Danielle asked me as we walked to the Parking Lot.

"Ally totally has attachments still here. Jacob is sticking around isn't he?" Hailey asked.

"Yeah, he is." I said distantly.

"Hey-" Hailey asked, stopping me and grabbing my arm as Danielle kept walking along to the parking lot. "Are you okay?"

"Hailey, can I trust you with something? I haven't really been able to tell any of my other friends about my trouble. I mean, we're both friends with the same people and he was friends with them first."

"Of course, Ally. What's going on?"

"It's me and Jake. The last few weeks….it's been different. He's been really distant, spending less time with me and more time with his friends. Which, normally I'd be fine with; because we're all friends with the same people but everybody has been acting weird." She didn't look convinced.

"I know what you're going to say. I mean if literally everyone is acting different it's probably me. But, I swear to God it's not. I mean, I've been nervous about leaving but I really don't think I've been any different. I swear. I don't know. I just have a really, really, really bad feeling."

She gave me a sympathetic smile. "You and your friends are freakishly close. They are probably just reacting to you leaving."

I nodded. That was most definitely the textbook answer, but I was still plagued with the soul crushing bad feeling. "Are you waiting for a ride?"

"Yeah. Jake said he'd be here."

"Okay. I have to go. I'll miss you."

"Thanks. Have fun in Seattle." I told her, giving her a small hug. Then she left, and I was alone. I checked my watch, like, a million times, until I saw my jeep pull up in the driveway.

"Hello, darling." The person in the front seat of my car said cheerily.

"Val? What are you doing here? In my car?" I asked frustrated.

"Jake and I were together and he was just so busy fixing my motorcycle that I offered to pick you up." She giggled. "We almost forgot to pick you up in general."

"Awesome." I said sarcastically. She giggled her annoying little laugh.

"So, Ally. I've wanted to talk to you for awhile. I'm glad were going to have this chance."

"What's up, Valerie?" I asked exasperatedly.

"Well, I just wanted you to know that while you're gone, I plan to date Jacob." My head snapped up.

"What?"

"I plan to date Jacob." She repeated condescendingly. "We have a natural chemistry that you just can't compete with. Haven't you noticed he's been a bit, distracted, lately? It's because he feels it too. I just wanted you to be aware before you heard it from somewhere else."

I couldn't move. What a bitch "And you think he'll pick you? After all we've been through….you think he'll pick you?"

"Well, of course. I mean, look at me. I'm perfect. And you are a messed-up, damaged piece of goods that don't deserve what you have."

"Whatever, Valerie. You are a bitch. I get that. But, Jacob and I are meant for each other. And…you can't fight fate." I said acidly.

"Oh, we'll see, darling. We'll see."

_Jacob P.O.V._

This was the day. The day that my girlfriend, Ally, was leaving the small confines of La Push for New York and I was….numb. I should be upset. I knew in my head that I should be depressed. Embry's girlfriend, Tasha, had left for California yesterday and he'd been flip-flopping between pissed off and crying buckets of tears. But, for some reason, I just wasn't. Our relationship just wasn't what it used to be. I knew she was my imprint, but I was starting to think that maybe we weren't meant to be together. Nothing specifically had happened that made us angry at each other, I just felt as if our love was being steadily pulled apart at the seams. She just didn't seem to understand me anymore. Not like Val did anyway. She had been there so much for me the last few weeks in my rough patch with Ally. I was just confused. I felt like I should love her. I knew I should love her. But, I just….didn't.

Ally was off saying goodbye to the boys of the pack and their girlfriends. I didn't go with her. I just needed to be somewhere far less complicated. My shed. I told her I was going to drive her to the airport, but I had to think before then. I had to think about what I was probably going to do. Break up with her. Our love just wasn't easy anymore and I couldn't help but feel I had feelings for someone else. Besides, there was no rules that imprints had to be together. They were just meant to be close. Maybe Ally and I weren't meant to be in a relationship. Maybe we were just meant to be friends…

"Hello, Jacob." Val said, waltzing into my shed.

"Hey, Val." I said shyly. She really was beautiful, but so was Ally.

"So where's your girlfriend?" She asked, sitting down on my motorcycle, legs crossed, so that I could see quite a flash of thigh underneath her pink mini skirt.

"She went to say goodbye to everyone. We're leaving for the airport in about ten minutes." I said. I wanted to ignore her. I really did. But, something about her just drew me in.

"Ten minutes?" She said seductively, getting off the motorcycle and sauntering closer to me. "What on Earth could we do in ten minutes?"

I stared at her intensively, as if she had me hypnotized. "I..uh-well, I. don't. I don't know."

She smirked and sat on my lap, pressing her lips to my mouth. My mind went blank. I couldn't see. I couldn't think. I was numb. Again. But, now, not just my feelings were numb but my mind was too. Nothing could bring me out of my dazed and confused state.

"What is going on here?" I heard from the doorway. I pulled my lips away from Val's and turned around. Ally looked at me with eyes I had never seen before. They were burning angrily while looking more hurt than I'd ever seen before. It broke my heart a little just looking at her.

"I…uh….well, uh, uh, I, uh…." I stuttered. I couldn't speak. Val pulled my head back to meet her eyes as she whispered, "break up with her."

Maybe it was for the best. Val understood me so well. She would never do anything to hurt me. I stood up and walked toward Ally for the last time.

"Ally. I'm sorry. But, I have feelings for someone else." She stared at me and I knew my heart should be breaking, I just felt so detached. I couldn't control what my mouth was saying.

"You're not sorry." She said tearing up. "You're not sorry at all."

"Ally, you know what we are to each other. That doesn't change. I still want to see you; I just can't be together with you anymore. I want to be together with Valerie." I said, putting my hand out behind me for Valerie to hold.

"Jacob. I never want to see you again. Do you understand? Never again. Do not call and do not ask anyone where I am. We're over." With that she turned on her heels and walked out of my garage and my life.

"You did the right thing," Val said in my ear while nibbling on it. If I did, then why did I feel so sick inside?

_Ally P.O.V_

I was numb. I could barely walk. I called Hailey to give me a ride to the airport because I didn't want to see a single one of Jake's "family" members. I knew they would all agree with what he did. I knew they would just write me off. They didn't have to like me anymore. I wasn't Jake's girlfriend and I sure as Hell was not planning on being his imprint. He always did tell me it was a choice. If he wanted to be with Val, that was fine. I wasn't going to care. I couldn't care. I refused to let him get to me. I really did know it was coming anyway. I had felt it somehow.

Hailey dropped me off at the airport asking of I'd be okay. Of course I would. I was a strong, capable girl. I'd be fine and never see this place again. I got on the plane and tried to zone out. Impossible. Not only was I confused with life right now, but I was sitting next to the chatterbox of all chatterboxes. There was no way this girl was for real.

"…Like how old are you and like what college are you going to and like who's your best friend and like do you have a boyfriend and like how old were you when you got your first kiss and like why are you on this plane and like who's your favorite musician and like what's your favorite movie and like are you an American?" The migrane in my head was pounding harder and harder as I tried desperately not to think or feel. I just wanted to be…done.

I stared at the young teen next to me in shock and turned away confusedly as she kept spouting off questions. I arrived at JFK airport in New York City at about 8:00pm. As I prepared to go through security, I turned my phone back on and felt my phone start to vibrate in my purse. I really shouldn't look at it. But, I did…

_10 missed text messages from Sam Uley, Emily Young, Kim Connweller, Tasha Wilder, Embry Call, Jacob Black, Bella Cullen, Paul Meraz, Rachel Black and Valerie Masters._

Oh my God! Why couldn't they leave me alone for, like, 8 hours? I didn't want to talk to any of them, really. Oh well, I was in no hurry. I could get a taxi at any point. This was the city that never sleeps. I sat down on one of those ridiculously uncomfortable chairs and read my texts. First from Sam.

_**Allyson. Call me. We'll figure something out. Jacob was out of line. **_

Thanks but no thanks. There's nothing Sam could do. Jacob is an 18 year old guy. Sam could force him to date me, I guess, but that was definitely not what I wanted. Emily's text next.

_**I am so sorry. Jacob is an asshole. Sam has forbidden Jake to tell Val anything about our life. Call me! We'll figure this out together.**_

Kim next.

_**Jared just told me what happened. All the brothers are pissed. Unacceptable. Call me.**_

I think I was figuring out where this was going. Tasha's turn.

_**ALLY! YOUR EX IS AN ASS! EMBRY WENT CRAZY AND I'D BEAT HIM UP IF I WAS THERE. CALL ME. DAY OR NIGHT! DO NOT SHUT US OUT!**_

Oh my God, I missed my best friend. Embry's text now.

_**Sis. Jacob is a fucking idiot! I know you probably don't want to talk, but we're all on your side, baby. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.**_

I sighed. The tears were starting to well up. I brushed them away impatiently. No. No. No and No! Jacob's was next. Uh..oh.

_**Honey, call me. Even though we aren't dating anymore, I still love you. Just not that way. Please call me. I love you.**_

Fuck off, asshole. I made a promise right there and then that I refused to talk to him. Never again. Bella? She never texted me.

_**I heard what happened, Seth called. One of us will be outside JFK waiting for you at around 9pm. You shouldn't be alone right now.**_

I practically started crying. I really didn't want to be alone but I didn't want to make the Pack choose between us. They could be on his side. I would step aside. Almost done with the texts. Paul now.

_**I'm going to beat Jacob up. Just thought you should know.**_

Oh, Paul. I shook my head. Normally I'd tell him not to….but I wanted Jacob beaten down. Maybe then he'd realize what he did to me. Torture. Now Jacob's sister.

_**I have never been more ashamed to call Jacob my brother than right now. Dad has forbidden Val from coming into the house and won't speak to Jacob. We'll fix this.**_

Last one. Val. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

_**Thanks for letting him go so easy. ;-)**_

I slammed my phone shut and kicked the chair angrily. I grabbed my bags, walking to the head of the terminal. As I walked closer and closer to the door I saw Renesmee and two people with her I didn't recognize. One was an exceptionally large guy and the other was an outrageously pretty blonde. They were definitely Vampires though. No doubt about it.

"Auntie Ally!" Nessie said, letting go of the blonde's hand and running at me. I forgot how amazing she made me feel. She was now the size of a four year old and still as beautiful as ever.

"Hi, Nessie!" Just saying the name Jacob made for her made my heart hurt. She ran to me and I picked her up easily. She placed her hand on my cheek, just as she had done when I was in the hospital.

_Her mom telling her that everyone in her family was moving to New York City to go to college again. She was really excited. Wait, they'd be here with me? I got excited. I wouldn't be alone?_

_The blonde lady she came with telling her the reason they were going was because Uncle Jake had been very mean to Auntie Ally. She was concerned for us. It made me ashamed. I didn't want to tell her we wouldn't be together anymore._

_Apparently, she was still confused, so she showed me her, her mom and her dad talking about imprinting and what Jacob did. She was angry at him and felt sorry for me. _

"Thank you, Ness. But, I'll be okay." I leaned down to her level and grabbed her hands. "Uncle Jake is with someone else now. But, I'm sure that time apart will do us both very good. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "But, I don't want you to be apart. I want you to be together. You're family."

"That's very sweet. Who did you bring with you?" I changed the subject. She knew what I was doing, trying to immediately change the subject, but she went along with it anyway.

"This is my Aunt Rosie and Uncle Emmett. Mom and Dad were setting up the new apartment with Auntie Alice and Uncle Jasper." I held out my hand to Rosalie first.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for coming to pick me up. I really appreciate it." I said quietly.

"No problem at all. Jacob is an idiot. I've always thought so." She said bitterly. I smirked, ever so slightly and dropped it just as quickly. Then I held my hand out to Emmett who instead grabbed me in a large bear hug. I didn't know what to do with it at first, it was such a contrast to what I was used to. The boys were always large as well but they were warm, sometimes exceptionally hot even, but this was cold and somehow comforting.

"You say the word, I'll go beat his ass," He said as he put me down. "I've wanted to do that for years."

"It's okay. I'm not really as upset as I thought I'd be. I mean, everything happens for a reason. I'm here in New York now, far, far away from any of that drama and ready to start new." I said bravely. They nodded understandingly and Emmett picked up my entire luggage bags.

"We know you don't have to officially check in to your Residence Hall until tomorrow night so Bella figured you could come back with us to our apartment until then." Rosalie said, picking up Renesmee gracefully and striding out to a silver Volvo parked where the rest of the taxi's were.

"Are ya'll supposed to park here?" I asked curiously. Emmett just winked and held the back door open for me while Rosalie put Nessie in her car seat. "Do you even need a car seat?"

"Daddy says we like to keep up appearances." Nessie said, buckling herself in.

Emmett drove way too fast, but we did make it into the city, alive, in about 10 minutes. Far faster than the 40 minutes I had expected. We arrived at a lavish looking building just outside of the main NYU campus, which coincidently was where my residence hall was located as well as the performance arts building I'd be spending most of my time in. Again, Emmett grabbed my gear as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

"What's that?" Nessie asked. I forgot about that keen sense of hearing.

"Oh, it's just my phone, Ness. Don't worry about it." I pulled it out and hit ignore on the screen showing Jacob's picture on it.

"Is that Uncle Jake? Are you going to answer it?" She asked. Ugh. Vampiric sight, too, no less.

"No." I said, pressing ignore and seeing all the texts that had filtered in the last twenty minutes. All of them said the same thing in different variations. Jacob is really worried. Call someone. We want to make sure you're okay. Oh yeah, I could tell he was worried by the way he pulled out my heart and stomped on it repeatedly. The doorman let us in the building and we took the elevator up to the eighteenth floor. We reached the last apartment in the hallway and Rosalie opened the door.

"Dad!" Renesmee said, running over to who I had to assume was Edward.

"Hello, sweetheart. Were you good for your Aunts and Uncle?"

"Of course, Daddy." She said, walking away to the kitchen. This apartment was huge. It had a large grand piano, big screen TV and even a chandelier. It reminded me a lot of my Dad and Siena's house in London (they'd sent me pictures) but definitely not what I was used to living at Jacob's. Jake. I buried the deep pain I felt in my heart quickly.

"You must be Ally. I've heard so much about you." Edward said shaking my hand.

"I've heard a lot about you as well. Thanks for coming." I said putting a small smile on my face.

"No problem. We were thinking about doing the whole college thing again anyway, especially since this would be Bella's first time."

"Where is Bella?" I asked looking around. As I looked around, I saw a blonde Vampire I hadn't met yet, Jasper, I was guessing, walk into the room and then quickly leave again with an immense look of pain on his face. "Is he okay?"

Edward stared at me probingly. "He'll be fine. Bella's in the room to the left."

I nodded and walked into the room he said Bella was in. I smiled a super fake smile and said hello.

She stared at me, practically looking through me, just like Emily used to. "Jacob is a fucking idiot. I am so sorry. Do you need me to call him and talk some sense into him?"

"Thanks, Bella, but, I'm really okay. He's not worth it." I said hollowly. I could tell she didn't buy it.

"Ally, if anyone in the world knows exactly how you're feeling right now, it's me. I mean, Jacob told you about our history, I'm sure, right?" I nodded. "Well, what I've learned is that sometimes boys are ridiculously dumb. They make terrible choices and we are the ones that suffer."

We stared at each other for a moment, my bright blue eyes into her topaz ones. And suddenly, without any warning at all, the walls inside my heart and subconscious crumbled down and before I knew it I was sobbing on the floor. My legs couldn't hold me up anymore and I just sat there, head on my knees, wondering how life would ever be the same again. Bella held me while I cried, but I barely felt her cold hands on my hair. All I could think about was my lost love and the ever present fact that I'd never be in love again.

**A/N- Awwww...she's so saddddd. :-( Review please! Review, review, review!**


	16. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_Bella P.O.V._

I was going to kill that motherfucking werewolf. Didn't we go through this a few years ago? You do not mess with supernatural fate! Now, I have a sobbing human girl in my arms because of his idiocy. Besides, it wasn't just any human girl; it was his imprint for God's sake. Something was wrong here. Very wrong. The Jacob I knew would never do this kind of backstabbing to someone he loved. It just didn't make sense. I heard Ally's phone go off in her pocket. She was still sobbing, but was asleep, so I grabbed it and flipped it open. Jacob Black.

"Jacob." I said shortly.

"Bella! How is she? I know she's with you, I feel it." He said. I shook my head.

"I can't believe you. She's devastated."

"I know but, I just don't have those feelings for her anymore. Valerie is just so, so….amazing." I was so enraged I let down my emotional shield, making Jasper and Edward run into the room. I put my guard back up, but not before Jasper got a good dose of what I was feeling and Edward heard everything in my head.

"Who is this Valerie? Because she's certainly not your imprint! I'm pretty sure your imprint is the girl sobbing in my arms right now!" I exclaimed with enough venom in my voice to coat a small country.

"She's crying?" He asked shame filling his voice. "Let me talk to her."

"No."

"Bella."

"No."

"Bella, come on. She's my imprint. I still care about her."

"No. You gave up your rights. Leave her alone."

"Bella, this doesn't concern you!"

"It concerns me now! Now, that she's here and inconsolable."

"Bella-"

"No, Jake. We're done talking about this. Have fun with your girlfriend." I hung up the phone angrily and went back to absently rubbing Ally's hair.

"Did Jake have anything to say in his defense?" Edward asked me, sitting down next to me stiffly.

"Nothing anyone would want to hear. Just a bunch of stuttering excuses. I don't understand why he would do something like this!" I exclaimed. I was just so ashamed. I couldn't believe him. Something was wrong. But, I didn't know if it was something about Jake that was wrong or just the entire situation.

_Ally P.O.V._

"Hey, Brittany? Are you here?" I asked, walking into the small dorm we shared. My roommate, Brittany Hunter, came in from the bathroom with her red hair soaking wet.

"Hi, Ally. How was class?" She asked me, drying her hair with her purple towel.

"Midterms are killer. Any messages or anything?" I asked. Brittany rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Today it was…uh, Emily and Jared. I told them you don't live here anymore. Maybe that'll throw them off the scent." She said to me. I gave her a quick hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I had been at NYU for 3 months now and they would not stop calling. Every single time they left messages about wanting me to call Jacob. That he was really worried and wanted to make sure I was okay. I'd yet to answer him. Or any of them for that matter. Except Tasha. But, only once.

"Emily told me that if I knew where you were to tell you your bridesmaid dress would be in the mail tomorrow and that the wedding is on December 18th." I froze. The wedding. Oh, my God. I'd forgotten. They couldn't be still expecting me to go, could they? I mean I refused to go and see Val there! Not with my Jacob. I mean, Jacob. Her Jacob. No way. I wasn't going. But, what was I going to say to them?

"Brit, do you have a free afternoon?" I asked her as an idea formed in my head.

"Yeah. No classes until tomorrow. Why?" She asked.

"I have an idea. Let's grab some lunch and talk about it." I said as she changed into her outfit for the day.

"Yum! It's Tofurkey day!" Brittany exclaimed. What a weirdo! I would never understand her Vegan-ness.

"Alright, Ally, Brit. Are you two ready?" Brittany's boyfriend, Wes, asked his face behind the handheld camera. We were in one of the small auditoriums at the Performing Arts building, Brittany behind the piano and me in my dance attire.

"Yep."

"All set."

"Okay. Girls, three, two, one, action." Wes said, focusing the camera on me.

"Hi, everyone. It's been awhile. I want to thank you, for all of the support you continually show me. However, there is no way I'm going to let you choose between me and your brother. So, that's why I haven't been answering. I love you all but I can't do that. I can't do that _because_ I love you. It's hard for me to put into words, what I've been feeling since Jacob and I broke up. So, I figured I'd do what I do best. Dance. My roommate, Brittany Hunter, is a music performance major here and she's going to help me. She and I wrote the song that I'm going to perform to. Just remember, I love you all, but, it doesn't change anything. I'm sorry." I turned away from the camera and whispered. "When you're ready, Brit."

She nodded slightly and we all began what we did best as I let my body do the talking I couldn't. This was the song that I had chosen for my dance midterm. It just compartmentalized my pain so well.

_**No, I can't take one more step towards you  
Cause all that's waiting is regret  
And don't you know, I'm not your ghost anymore  
You lost the love  
I loved the most  
I learned to live, half alive  
And now you want me one more time  
Who do you think you are  
Running round leaving scars  
Collecting your jar of hearts  
And tearing love apart  
You're gonna catch a cold  
From the ice inside your soul  
So don't come back for me  
Who do you think you are  
I hear you're asking all around  
If I am anywhere to be found  
But I have grown too strong  
To ever fall back in your arms  
I learned to live, half alive  
And now you want me one more time  
Who do you think you are  
Running round leaving scars  
Collecting your jar of hearts  
And tearing love apart  
You're gonna catch a cold  
From the ice inside your soul  
So don't come back for me  
Who do you think you are  
It took so long just to feel alright  
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes  
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed  
Cause you broke all your promises  
And now you're back  
You don't get to get me back  
Who do you think you are  
Running round leaving scars  
Collecting your jar of hearts  
And tearing love apart  
You're gonna catch a cold  
From the ice inside your soul  
So don't come back for me  
Don't come back at all  
And who do you think you are?  
Running round leaving scars  
Collecting your jar of hearts  
And tearing love apart  
You're gonna catch a cold  
From the ice inside your soul  
Don't come back for me  
Don't come back at all  
Who do you think you are?  
Who do you think you are?  
Who do you think you are?**_

I did my final pose during Brittany's last chord and blew the camera a sad kiss as it shut off. I quickly turned around a wiped a rouge tear from my cheek while sniffing. The song was just perfect for the situation. As much as I hated him, he still had my heart, which made me hate him all the more.

_Tasha P.O.V_

Thank God for the delightfulness that was Thanksgiving Break. I walked through the Security at Seattle International Airport in knots. I couldn't wait to see my imprint again. These last few months had been so hard, but so amazing at the same time. I missed my boyfriend. I missed his smell and his warmth but I was, obviously, very thankful for the experiences I had so far at UC Berkeley. Besides my wonderful boyfriend, who I had been in almost constant contact with since I had left, I was also stoked to see the rest of my "brothers" and "sisters". But, I missed my best friend. I was pretty sure she wouldn't be there. I hadn't really been able to speak to Ally since I left. Just one time, but we had decided not to tell anyone at Ally's insistence. She wouldn't answer anyone's calls or speak to anybody that had any connection with Jacob. Speaking of Jacob, I couldn't wait to see him and Valerie. I had some things to talk to them about, for sure, I thought bitterly.

"Tasha! Baby!" Embry exclaimed from across the airport. He had a single rose in his hand and was waving like a maniac. I dropped my duffle bag and ran into my boyfriend's waiting arms. I jumped in them and squeezed his rock hard body as hard as my human arms would allow. He picked me up and swung me around.

"Oh, Embry! I missed you so much!" I sighed. He looked at me passionately and we kissed, like we had been craving to do for months.

"I love you." He said to me as we broke apart. Even though we had been together on and off for about a year, we had very rarely actually said that to each other. We both knew we meant it, but we just hadn't said it. He knew I was scared of love, especially seeing the kind of family I had grown up in that I often didn't show affection in public either. But, here, now, this was special. We intertwined our fingers together as Embry walked me to his car, ever so often, kissing my cheek or ear.

"I love you too." I giggled.

"So, everyone is here already. The whole pack and the girls are waiting at Sam and Emily's."

"Everyone?" I asked, obviously referring to Ally. He shook his head sadly. I thought back to a conversation we had a few weeks ago on the phone.

_"Embry? What's with you today, hun?" I asked. I was currently crawling into bed. My roommate Donyelle, was away for the weekend, so I had Embry on speakerphone and the room to myself. We had been talking for about twenty minutes now and he seemed off._

_"It's just been a bad day."_

_"Do you want to talk?" I asked cautiously. I heard him break down over the phone and start crying. "Embry! Baby, talk to me." _

_He sniffed and then began. "Imprinting is a really weird thing, Tasha. I know that you and I are meant to be. I can feel it with every fiber of my being. And, because we share thoughts when we are imprinted with the rest of the pack, I have grown really close to Emily, Kim, Rachel, Ally and even Rosie. I really do feel like they are my sisters and it hurts me, like physically hurts me, everything happening with Jake and Ally. It makes me literally hate Val. I feel like, Ally and Jake's love was so pure, so amazing. Ally was the Beta Female of the tribe, I feel protective of her. And, Jake just stomped over that. I always thought Imprinting was so easy and it makes me worried for us."_

_My tears began to pool up. I always knew that he and Ally were close. Ally was actually close with most of the boys, but I didn't know that Jacob's idiocy was literally hurting them. It made me hate Val as well and I was usually the easy going one._

_"I know, sweetie. I know." We talked for a little bit longer, assuring each other we'd never end up like our ill-fated friends. Then, we hung up and I made a bold move. I called Ally. I'd done it before, many, many, times, but somehow, this time, I knew she'd answer. _

_"Hello." She sounded…well, dead. No life left in her voice. It made me ache for her._

_"Hi, Ally." I said quietly. _

_There was silence at the other end until she said, "I need you."_

_I started sobbing despite myself. "I need you too. We all need you. Come back to us."_

_"I can't. It hurts too much to even think about any of you. Talking to you right now is killing me inside." She said, pain covering every inch of her voice._

_"Please, Ally. We'll figure something out. We'll find a way to break them up. We're all so worried about you." I said, remembering the conversation I'd had with Embry earlier that night._

_"No. I just answered to ask you to tell them not to worry about me. I have the Cullen's. They're here this semester. I'm not going to kill myself or anything, which is I know what you're all worried about. I'll be fine. Please, don't tell anyone about this." The other line went blank. I sighed and then brought my knees up to my face and cried, wishing I had my imprint here to protect me from the world. _

We pulled up to Sam and Emily's house and grabbed their mail as we walked inside.

"Hello? I brought home a traveler!" Embry said yelling into the house.

"Tasha!" Emily exclaimed running over to me and giving me a hug.

"Hey, Emily!" I exclaimed, returning her large hug. "Is everyone already here?"

"Everyone that's coming." She said sadly.

Embry kissed Emily's cheek. "We brought in your mail."

"Thanks." She said grabbing it and immediately pulling out a large package underneath the junk mail.

_**Allyson Chase**_

_**2463 University Ave. Apt 17A**_

_**New York City, New York**_

_**10031**_

_**Sam Uley and Emily Young**_

_**23 Kipatow Street**_

_**La Push Reservation, Washington**_

_**98350**_

We both looked at it flabbergasted as Emily shouted for Sam and ripped into it. Inside there was a DVD and a small note.

_**Sam and Emily,**_

_**I trust you as the Male and Female Alpha's that you will share this DVD with everyone. I miss you.**_

_**Ally**_

Embry took the DVD gingerly as Sam read the note over Emily's shoulder. The four of us walked into the Living Room seeing Jared, Kim, Paul, Rachel, Quil, Jacob, Leah, Seth, Brady, Rosie and Collin already there squishing into the Living Room as well as possible.

"Ally sent us something." Sam said authoritatively. I saw Jacob stiffen and it made me want to beat him up. "She wants us to watch it."

The four of us sat anywhere we could around the TV, which meant me squished between Jacob and Embry. I turned to Jacob acidly. "Where's the girlfriend?"

"She's out of town." He said. His eyes looked dead and I suddenly felt bad for saying anything at all. Emily popped in the DVD and Ally's face came into focus. She looked dead too. How could two so unhappy people not find their way back to each other? When the DVD was over, I looked to the boys, who's tan faces suddenly seemed a few shades paler and all of the other girls, who had tears in their eyes.

"I can't believe you." Paul said turning to Jacob. "I can't believe you! Do you see how sad she is? How upset you've made her? How are you okay with that?"

"Paul! Settle down." Sam's voice began.

"No! I won't settle down! She's pale, she's lost weight, there is no sparkle in her eye….she's NOT Ally anymore! Because of what he did to her!" He said accosting Jacob, who refused to stick up for himself.

"Paul, come on. Let's not do this, okay?" Rachel said, pleading with her imprint. He looked at her with soft eyes and then got up to storm out the door, shaking. However, he turned back and said one more soul crushing thing.

"Where's your precious girlfriend now, Jacob?" He said storming out, no lie to transform and get out some aggression. The rest of the pack followed…except for Jake. The girls all walked out as well.

"I'm here!" A sickeningly sweet Australian voice called in from the front door and something happened I didn't expect. I locked eyes with Jake, who at the sound of her voice, shuddered, like he was having some sort of internal struggle. Maybe he was.

"I'm sorry, Jake. I can't be here with her." I gave him a quick hug, which he clung to like a life supporter and kissed his cheek. He nodded. And then, for no reason at all, I had a sudden burst to tell him what I wanted to for months. "You know what you need to do."

He nodded and I could practically see the internal struggle in his head. There was something more here than meets the eye. "What is going on here?" Val said, walking into the room and seeing me caressing Jacob's hand. He let go immediately and we broke out of the connection we had just had.

"Nothing. Let's go for a walk." Jacob said, getting up, kissing Val on the cheek and walking out with her. As soon as they were out of sight, I jumped up from the couch and ran out the backdoor.

"EMBRY!" I exclaimed, hoping to God he could hear me. I ran toward the forest, hoping to run into any of the wolves. I had a theory. Val was definitely not who she pretended to be. Something was off. What if? What if somehow she was forcing Jacob to love her? What if he had no choice? What if it was really killing him inside? What if Val was some sort of supernatural being? Just like the rest of them? Like Werewolves and Vampires?

I ran for awhile, trying to find a wolf. Any wolf. Instead of running into the wolves, I ran into people. Really beautiful people. They looked oddly familiar though. There was a brunette young woman, a bronze haired man, a dark haired pixie and an overly large, muscled guy, all with bright topaz eyes. The brunette looked really familiar.

"Are you Bella?" I asked cautiously. She nodded.

"You must be Tasha." She said keeping her distance, I'm sure not to scare me. They knew I knew who they were and I knew that they weren't allowed on our land. "We need to talk to Sam. Immediately."

"I was trying to find them. But given that your scent is now around me, I give it about five seconds before they come running." I said wryly. The pixie looking girl smirked.

"Believe me, we have bigger problems. You reek of something besides werewolf." Alice said walking hesitantly closer. I gulped.

"Blood?"

They rolled their eyes. "No. Meta."

It was like they spoke Martian. I heard footsteps coming near me and assumed my werewolves were here. I was wrong. Jacob and Val had arrived from the left. The Cullen's were on the right and who was in the middle. Me.

I backed up slightly toward Jake and Val. Bad move. I saw Val's face creep into a sadistic smile. "Finally."

She leaped agile toward me and held me head strong between her arms as if to snap it in a second. "It took you Vamps long enough to find me."

My eyes widened as I saw her change right before my eyes. She was no longer the beautiful, Australian schoolgirl, but an old, shriveled and ugly looking creature I could only describe as Medusa like. Suddenly, I felt her arms around my neck. "Anyone moves. I kill her."

From where I was, I could see Jacob shake out of his stupor that he'd been in for months and begin to shake. "Jake, don't." I tried to say, but the creature was cutting off my air with one of her….six arms? No. Way.

"What are you doing here, Meta?" Edward said from next to Bella.

"Aro sent me. I plan to kill you off one by one. Starting with this one." He arms tightened again and I saw both Jacob and the large Vampire (Emmett) try to charge her.

"Don't." I tried to say. Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I heard a growl emanating from the trees. Embry, I love you. I thought as darkness enveloped me.

_Ally P.O.V._

"…she was a Meta. The one we knew was coming. We just couldn't see it was her earlier because Alice can't see anything involving the Wolves. That's how she had been controlling Jacob's emotions and feelings. Tasha is okay. Just a small scare." Bella told me when they arrived home from the Reservation. Apparently, even though I thought that Edward, Bella, Alice and Emmett had been in Alaska, they actually went to the Reservation to talk some sense into Jacob and ended up figuring out that Valerie was an evil Metamorphic being, trying to destroy the Cullen clan by getting to the Pack first. My life, right?

It really should make me feel better that Jacob's rejection of me was based on Val's special powers, but it didn't. Not by a long shot. It actually made me feel worse. This whole special powers thing was too much. There was too much forcing going on. Jacob was _forced_ to love me. Jacob was _forced_ to love her. Jacob was _forced_ to dump me. Jacob was _forced_ to kill her. Jacob was _forced_ to kill for me. Jacob was now _forced _to love me again. It was just too much effort to be in this world, too much effort on both my heart and emotions. I had made up my mind. I was stepping out. Officially.

I left the Cullen's apartment and went back to my dorm silently, thinking about what I was about to do. I had decided. It was the last day of the semester after all.

"Hey, Ally." Brittany said as I walked in. "How were the Cullen's?"

She and I had spent a lot of our time at the Cullen's. Obviously, Brit didn't know who they really were but she enjoyed spending time with them all the same. For some reason, I was attracted to people with weird familial situations. Brit had been kicked out of her house at 18 when he said she wanted to be a singer and not a lawyer like her mother, father and older brother. She liked hanging with a new family just as much as I did.

"Fine." I said simply. I went over to my closet and began grabbing things and throwing them into a bag. Brittany sat up in her bed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to La Push. I have some things to do. I need closure." I said absently, throwing clothes in. Brittany looked at me curiously but didn't say anything. I was ready to leave in about 5 minutes.

"You have my cell if you need anything. I'll either be here or at the Cullen's. Wes is going back home to Tennessee and did not invite me with him." She said bitterly. I went over, gave her a hug and walked out of the room, un-taping a note from the front of the door as I closed it.

_**Ally,**_

_**I saw your future disappear. Take my car. Good luck. **_

_**Alice**_

Inside were her car keys. I shook my head and walked off silently to the parking garage. Once in the car, I drove off to JFK airport.

_Ally P.O.V._

It had already started when I arrived. They all looked beautiful. I snuck in the back of the wedding and sat down behind people so no one would see me. Emily and Sam were already up at the front together with Rachel, Kim, Tasha, Leah and Rosie in beautiful blue dresses behind them and Claire in a pretty white flower girl dress. Standing behind Sam was Paul, Jared, Embry, Seth and Jacob.

"Do you, Emily Renelle Young take Samuel Levi Uley as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"And do you, Samuel Levi Uley take Emily Renelle Young to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"The rings please?"

Rachel and Paul handed the rings over to the happy couple who both took them and said the additional ring promise.

"I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Emily and Sam kissed happily as the room began to clap.

"Ladies and gentleman, for the first time, may I present, Sam and Emily Uley." They walked back down the aisle, eyes focused on each other with Rachel and Paul, Kim and Jared, Tasha and Embry, Leah and Jacob and Rosie and Seth following them down. I turned my head so that no one would see me and as they left for the Reception Hall next door. The rest of the guests followed them and I walked out last, not planning on going to the reception. I almost made it out too, before I heard the voice I least wanted to hear.

"Ally." It was Jacob. He looked amazing. He had taken off his suit jacket, un tucked his shirt and loosened his tie a bit. It was very familiar. Reminiscent of the time he had almost stood me up at the Homecoming Dance, before I had gotten mixed up in this supernatural mess. When it was just me and him and the love we shared. I was wearing a black and white geometric sundress I had borrowed from Brittany. It felt familiar and uncomfortable at the same time.

"Hi, Jacob." The silence was deafening and awkward. No one knew what to say. We stood at least twenty feet from each other. "How's life?" I asked quietly.

"Good. Busy. The garage I work at is getting a lot of business. How's school?" He said.

"Fine. Hard but fine. I like my roommate a lot. How's your family?"

"Billy misses you. He tries not to talk about it but…" I nodded.

"I miss him too. Please, tell him for me."

"You could tell him yourself." I shook my head. He didn't look surprised.

"I came to say goodbye." I said, sitting down on a chair. He sat down as well, but we were still many feet apart.

"Ally, I didn't mean…I mean, I didn't know…." I nodded, tears threatening to fall from both our faces.

"I know. That doesn't change anything. It still happened and I can forgive you…but I can't forget." I stood up to walk away.

"Please, Allyson. Let's talk about this. I'm still in love with you!" He implored but I had already shut him out.

"I'm sorry, Jake. Regardless of if I love you or not, I am not strong enough to be in this kind of co-dependant relationship with you. You leaving me made me realize that you are just too much for me. If we got back together and you left me again….I wouldn't, I couldn't…It's better to stop this now, before we get any deeper. When you left me I felt more pain than I ever had in my life. More than my step-father's abuse. More than my mom's lack of love for me. More than all three of my siblings abandoning me. More than my dad's irritation with me. More than all of that put together and times a thousand."

"Ally, please!" He stepped towards me, but I stepped back again and shook my head.

"I'm sorry. I just need to be free. I need you to not be forced into loving me. I need to be alone. Don't follow me. This is goodbye." And with that, I walked out to the parking lot and got into Alice's car, half expecting Jacob to follow me, but he didn't.

**A/N- So Val's out of the way, thank God. But she's a bit of a foreshadow. Trouble is a-comin'. Jake and Ally, not getting too much better. Review Review Review!**


	17. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_Ally P.O.V _

"I'm home!" I said, walking into the Cullen's apartment. Jasper was sitting on the couch with his electric guitar, Brittany with her acoustic, singing and Edward at the piano. Rosalie was reading a copy of Hamlet, Emmett was playing a video game in the corner and both Alice and Bella were studying Biology and Psychology respectively.

"Hey." I said to everyone as I walked in.

"Hi, Ally. How'd it go?" Bella asked, looking up from the psychology books around her. I plopped down on the floor.

"I said goodbye." I told her simply. Everyone stared at me. "What?"

"It's just….we all thought you were going to make up with that do—Jacob." Rosalie said, eyeing me suspiciously, looking up from her copy of Hamlet.

I shook my head. "Nope. I want to be free to be who I want to be and I want him to feel the same freedom."

Edward stared at me. _Stop getting in my head, Edward. I said I was fine and I am. He's probably just as happy about this as I am._ He shook his head and turned back to the piano, playing a small tune and letting Jasper and Brittany jam to it. _Thank you for your concern though_. I smiled his direction. Even though I had been a bit of a bitch the last few months, super moody and uncaring, I was truly thankful for all the support the Cullen's had given me. I just hoped they knew that. Edward looked back at me and winked, ever so slightly and for just a second, the void left by Jacob leaving my heart was filled for just a moment.

"Hi, Auntie Ally! You're back!" Nessie said jumping on my lap. She, in reality was only a year and a half old, but she was the size of a five year old.

"Hey, Nessie-boo! I missed you." I said giving her a kiss on the head.

"Auntie Ally, you won't believe it! Uncle Jasper and Brittany have been teaching me the guitar! They said someday soon I can play with them and Daddy!" I smiled.

"That's excellent! You'll be better than lame old Brittany in no time!" I stage whispered.

"I heard that!" She exclaimed, hitting a minor chord to get my attention. I winked and went back to talking to Nessie….the only link I had left to Jacob.

"Ally. A package came for you today." Brittany said croakily as I walked in from class on that brisk February morning. "but, I'll give it to you later. We need to talk!"

"What?" I asked her. She looked like she was about to explode any second. She had been cooped up far too long. She had gotten laryngitis last week and hadn't been able to shake it. She was feeling fine, but most of her classes had to do with singing and she could barely talk as it was.

"Okay, see there is this songwriting and performing contest in the Student Union and I want to enter because the prize is two front row tickets to Wicked at the end of this semester and you and I need to be there!" I nodded. I did know that Wicked was quite possibly one of our favorite things in the world, however we hadn't gotten to go since moving into the city. "but, I haven't written anything new and my voice is still all scratchy. I want you to sing and I'll play the guitar for you."

"Why me? Rosalie and Edward both have a better voice than I do." I said cautiously.

"…because, I want you to sing your song." She said simply.

"What song?" I tried to play dumb, but Brit wasn't having it.

"Don't play dumb, Ally. The one you wrote around Christmas. The one about…"

"Don't say it."

"Jake."

I sighed. I had written a song about him around Christmas, but I hadn't shown anyone. It didn't mean anything. "Brit. I was dramatizing us. That song doesn't mean anything."

"So you won't mind performing it for me. Please? Ally! I have never asked you for anything. Ever. But, I really, really, really want those tickets. Please?" She came up to me and literally began begging at my feet, scratchy voice and all. I couldn't say no. Brit and the Cullen's were all I had now.

"Okay. Okay. But, if we don't win, you can't blame my voice. I'm a dance major!"

She gasped. "Ah! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! You are the best roommate ever! I love you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. When's the performance?"

She said something unintelligible under her breath.

"Sorry. Didn't catch that." I said putting my hand to my ear.

"Tomorrow evening." She said slightly louder this time. I jumped up.

"What!" I exclaimed. "Ugh! Brittany!"

"Well, I didn't want you to chicken out!" She exclaimed. This was about to be a tough night. I pulled out the pink notebook from under my bed with the song I wrote inside it, caressed it gently and walked out of the dorm.

"Where are you going?" Brit asked yelling after me.

"A practice room and you are coming with me!" I exclaimed. Brittany followed like the good, however slightly devilish friend she was with her guitar in hand.

"I don't know if I can do this!" I exclaimed as we were on deck, ready to go next at the NYU singer/songwriter competition.

"You can do this." She said simply. If she could do this, I could do this, right? I was brave, right?

"Up next." We heard from the other side of the curtain. "Freshman, Brittany Hunter and Allyson Chase!"

We heard the Cullen's cheering from the back and that made me smile through my nerve wracking state of being. There were two stools already out there for us and two microphone's. Brit attached one to her guitar and I grabbed the other and she began to play the intro. Suddenly, as if I was watching a movie in my head countless memories and thoughts came prancing through my vision as I sang.

_I'm so glad you made time to see me  
How's life? Tell me, how's your family?  
I haven't seen them in a while_

**"Billy misses you. He tries not to talk about it but…" I nodded.**

**"I miss him too. Please, tell him for me."**

**"You could tell him yourself." I shook my head. He didn't look surprised**.

_You've been good, busier than ever  
We small talk, work and the weather  
Your guard is up, and I know why_

**"Hi, Jacob." The silence was deafening and awkward. No one knew what to say. We stood at least twenty feet from each other. **

_Because the last time you saw me  
Is still burned in the back of your mind  
You gave me roses, and I left them there to die_

**"Please, Allyson. Let's talk about this. I'm still in love with you!" He implored but I had already shut him out.**

_So this is me swallowing my pride  
Standing in front of you, saying I'm sorry for that night  
And I go back to December all the time  
It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you  
Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine  
I go back to December, turn around and make it alright  
I go back to December all the time_

**I really did still love him. I would never be able to stop loving him. I mean, he was my first love and it was an intense and passionate one. I should not have left that way. That was so dumb of me. Why did I just keep screwing things up?**

_These days, I haven't been sleeping  
Staying up, playing back myself leaving  
When your birthday passed, and I didn't call_

**"I'm sorry. I just need to be free. I need you to not be forced into loving me. I need to be alone. Don't follow me. This is goodbye."**

_Then I think about summer, all the beautiful times  
I watched you laughing from the passenger side_

**I laughed slightly and our lips met with the electric current I had come to expect from my loving boyfriend. He put his arms around my body and drew his fingertips up my bare stomach. Then he grabbed my hips and rotated us over so that he was now on top of me.**

**"Jake."**

**"Hmmm…?"**

**"What are you doing?" I asked giggling as I felt his mouth sucking on my neck and his teeth gently biting as well.**

**I couldn't quite hear what he said, but I was pretty sure it was something to the effect of "having a snack." I giggled. This was perfect. **

**"It's us against the world, honey. You and me." Jake said quietly as he lifted his lips up to my mouth and kissed me there, then returned to his "snack". **

_And realized I loved you in the fall_

**"Goodbye, Jacob." I turned around and walked away. **

**"Ally! Ally, wait! I won't fall in love with someone else. I love you, baby!"**

**I whirled back around. "You love me now! What about when you find your other half? Then what, Jake!" I turned back to walk out of the woods. I started to hear a strangled cry.**

**"You are my other half, Allyson! You are my imprint. I love you!" I stopped. I was his imprint. Jacob's imprint? He was my other half and I was his? I turned around to see Jacob's hurt face, manly enough to cry. **

**"Oh God, Jake, baby, I love you too!" I ran, high heels be damned, into his arms. I threw my arms around his neck and legs around his waist. I forgot how warm he was. I squeezed him as tight as I could and it still wasn't tight enough to help stop my trembling.**

**"Oh, Ally, I love you, I love you, I love you," Jake murmured into my hair. "What would I have done if you left?"**

**"I won't. I'm so sorry, baby. I was just mad because of how much I love you. I didn't want you to leave me."**

_And then the cold came, the dark days  
When fear crept into my mind  
You gave me all your love, and all I gave you was goodbye_

**"Please, Allyson. Let's talk about this. I'm still in love with you!" He implored but I had already shut him out. **

**"I'm sorry, Jake. Regardless of if I love you or not, I am not strong enough to be in this kind of co-dependant relationship with you. You leaving me made me realize that you are just too much for me. If we got back together and you left me again….I wouldn't, I couldn't…It's better to stop this now, before we get any deeper. When you left me I felt more pain than I ever had in my life. More than my step-father's abuse. More than my mom's lack of love for me. More than all three of my siblings abandoning me. More than my dad's irritation with me. More than all of that put together and times a thousand."**

_So this is me swallowing my pride  
Standing in front of you, saying I'm sorry for that night  
And I go back to December all the time  
It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you  
Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine  
I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind  
I go back to December all the time_

**It'd been about two months since I'd said goodbye and it didn't accomplish what I wanted at all. I wanted to be over him. I didn't want to think about him anymore. I shouldn't have said goodbye. It wasn't worth it. I was in love with him. Even now, even if he didn't feel the same.**

_I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile  
So good to me, so right  
And how you held me in your arms that September night  
The first time you ever saw me cry_

**Damage was done. Uh, oh, the tears were threatening to come. Once again, Mike ruins my life. And he didn't even have to be here this time! I stared at Jacob's face, the anger was being replaced with something else. Something completely different. He got up from his chair and I figured that was it. Way to ruin everything, Ally. You've only been here two weeks and you've gotten into a car accident and had your heart broken. But then, surprising me once again, instead of leaving, Jacob got down on his knees next to my chair, grabbed my hands and turned me so that I was looking down at him for a change. I could no longer hold in the tears, they started free-falling, but there was nothing I could do about it so I looked away, sniffling.**

**"Allyson? Honey, look at me." It took me a second, but I turned around to see his face looking at mine, so genuine and so intensely, I couldn't help but stare. "Did you think I would be mad at you?"**

**I nodded, tears still falling down my cheeks. Its times like these I wish I wasn't a crier. "I'm kind of damaged goods. I'm not…I'm not the girl you deserve." I answered quietly. He grabbed me into a huge hug, so much so that I was practically sitting on his lap. I couldn't help it; I hugged him as tight as I possibly could, breathing in his scent. It was woodsy and beautiful, just like the Reservation itself. **

**"You aren't damaged goods and I would never be mad at you. Ever. I couldn't be. It just isn't possible, okay?" I nodded. He pulled me out of the hug and put his hands on both sides of my face. He wiped away the tear stains with his large thumbs. "And, just for the record, I really, really like you too."**

**I laughed and gave him another big hug. Without breaking apart he lifted us both off the ground and placed my feet on the floor. **

_Maybe this is wishful thinking  
Probably mindless dreaming  
But if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right_

**Was I legitimately still in love with him? I guess that was the question. Did I still physically, mentally and emotionally love him as much as I used to? The answer was: even more than I ever had before. **

_I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't  
So if the chain is on your door, I understand_

**Oh my God. I loved him. I loved him. I was in love with him. Oh my God. What the fuck did I do?**

_This is me swallowing my pride  
Standing in front of you, saying I'm sorry for that night  
And I go back to December  
It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you  
Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine  
I go back to December, turn around and make it alright  
I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind  
I go back to December all the time, all the time_

I finished the song and looked at Brittany with tear stained cheeks. She grabbed my hand and just said simply, "Go."

I jumped up and ran out of the auditorium, however before I left, I could have sworn I saw Brittany give the Cullen's a thumbs up. I didn't stop running the whole way across campus and still didn't stop until I reached my dorm room when I was very suddenly paralyzed with fear. Just because I realized I was still in love with him, doesn't mean that he was still in love with me. I sat down quickly on my bed and saw the package Brit had briefly told me about yesterday.

_**Leah Clearwater**_

_**167 Blackbarn Road  
La Push Reservation, Washington**_

_**98350**_

_**Allyson Chase**_

_**2463 University Ave. Apt 17A**_

_**New York City, New York**_

_**10031**_

That was really weird. I think I had spoken to Leah, like, twice in the last year and a half. I was far closer to Seth than her and always got the feeling she didn't really like me that much. That made me incredibly interested. I ripped open the package and saw a DVD in it. I grabbed my laptop and put the DVD in. Suddenly, Leah's face appeared on my screen.

"Hi, Ally. It's me, Leah. I've always liked you, I don't know if you knew that. You were much more down to Earth than the other girls my brothers have imprinted on. If anyone knows how it feels to be rejected by someone you love, it's me. So, I figured I'd clue on a few things using this video camera. No one knows I'm doing this; so, keep it a secret, will you?"

"First of all, I don't know if you know this, but the reason he hasn't come after you himself was because you told him not to follow you. It's an imprint thing. He can't do what you specifically ask him not to. However, I didn't want you to think it was because he doesn't love you. See for yourself."

Leah panned the camera over to show Emily knocking on Jacob's door. "Come on, Jake. Eat something, please."

"No."

"Jake."

"No."

"Please."

"NO!"

"Okay, well it'll be right outside if you want it." She said, putting it down and walking away,

The camera panned back to Leah's face. "Alright, so that was mean and moody Jacob that we've been subject to. The flip side is sad and depressed Jacob." I could tell that Leah had hidden the camera somewhere in his room. I saw Jacob sleeping, or so I thought. He was in his bed, but Rachel was sitting on the chair next to him. "She's gone. She's gone. I can't believe I let her go. Ally. Ally. Ally."

Jacob was sobbing. Rachel moved over to his bed to comfort him when I saw how gaunt and skinny he looked. "Rachel. She's never coming back. I need her. I want her here with me."

Rachel continued to run her fingers through his hair and singing in his ear while he sobbed, making me cry as well. "I am such an idiot. I knew I wasn't good enough for her. I loved her. I still love her. Why won't she let me be with her?"

"Yep. That's pretty much the two sides of Jacob Black that we get now. Look, when Bella broke his heart, I was pissed, because there was another guy in the mix. However, I trust you and I think that you were just uninformed because no one wanted to be the one to tell you. You should know that Jacob isn't the only one that loves you. We all do. You are the rightful Beta of the pack. That's why the boys and, oh Hell, me, feel so protective over you. So…yeah. That's it. Just, do what we all know you will do. Go to him. Bye." She pressed stop and my laptop went blank.

I sat on my bed in silence, letting the tears fall down my face when I heard a voice in my head. "You are a sister of the pack. You are important. You still have many things to do." Emily? That gave me the courage I needed. I pulled out my phone and called Edward.

"Hello?"

"Edward, I need a favor."

"Name it."

"Well, its Friday night and we have next week off for all those minor holidays. I need you to use that Cullen family charm of yours to get me the two weeks off between then and Spring Break. That gives me a month off…do you think you could…?"

"Of course. Make sure he's okay, will you?"

"I will. Edward, I want to tell you that I—" My voice got choked up._ I really appreciate everything your whole family has done for me. Besides the Pack, you guys are my family. Thank you. I love you all_. I said in my head.

"We feel the same. Good luck."

"Thanks." I shut the phone and grabbed a duffel bag. I threw a few weeks of clothes and necessities into my bag. As I grabbed my laptop to begin looking up flights that would leave as soon as possible, Brittany came barging in.

"I'm coming with you." She announced. I looked up at her sharply.

"What?" I asked. "You can't. You don't know anything about Washington. You're a city girl from Savannah, Georgia!"

"Look, I know but you'll need moral support. Besides, Edward said he'd fix up my classes to. I want to go with you." I bit my bottom lip. An outsider? The last time an outsider came around it didn't really go very well. I really shouldn't bring her.

"Okay." What? Okay? Why did I say okay? "You can come." WHAT?

"Thank you!" She grabbed her duffle bag, tossed some necessities in it as well as I bought tickets online.

"The flight leaves at 8:15pm."

"It's 7:00, now!" Brittany exclaimed. "How are we going to get there in time?"

Just then Rosalie came barging into the room. "I hear my services are needed." She winked. Brittany grabbed her duffel and guitar case, while I brought my duffle bag and laptop. We practically ran to the parking garage and hopped into her silver Lexus convertible. She drove at least 100 miles an hour to get us there in time, which was quite impressive for busy Manhattan streets. She dropped us off at the Delta Airlines terminal with good luck wishes. We hopped out and grabbed our stuff. While Brittany checked in our baggage, I figured out who to call to pick us up and where Brittany would be able to stay. We'd be getting in at about midnight. Sam and Emily were still in the Honeymoon phase, so they were out. Tasha was in Berkeley. Brady, Collin, Rosie and Seth were all still underage so we wouldn't make them do it. I wanted to surprise Jacob so Rachel was out. Leah worked nights at a local bar in Port Angeles so she was out. Paul, Jared or…Embry! Embry could come pick us up and I'm sure Paul and Jared wouldn't mind Brittany sleeping in Tasha's room.

I sent a quick text to Paul.

_**I'm coming home for a month. I need to see Jake. But I'm bringing my roommate with me and she knows nothing about any of us. Can she sleep in Tasha's room? She wants to give me moral support. She's awesome. I promise. **_

"I checked all of our stuff in. Are you ready to go through security?" Brittany asked, still holding my laptop and her guitar case.

"Sure. I texted Paul to see if you could stay there while I go see Jacob and I'm going to call Embry to see if he'll pick us up."

"Are you sure they won't mind?" Brittany asked.

"Nope. I'm pretty positive they'll be fine with it." My phone vibrated in my pocket as we stood in the long line for the Security scans.

_**THANK GOD! I am so happy you'll be coming home! Of course she can stay here. When are you getting in?**_

I smiled. "Paul says its fine."

_**We'll be in at 11:45pm. I'm going to call Embry to come pick us up. Thank you. I love you, you know that?**_

As we stood in line I called Embry's cell.

"Hello? Ally?" He said excitedly. I smiled.

"Hi, Embry. Long time no talk to." I said, emotions welling up.

"Ally, honey, I am so glad you called! I've missed you."

"I missed you too. Look, uh, I need a favor. My roommate, Brittany and I are standing in Security at JFK right now. I'm coming home."

"Are you serious?" He said cautiously.

"Yeah, I couldn't stay away. I missed you all and I missed him."

"Ally. I could kiss you right now. Did you know that? You are saving the whole pack from the depression we have without you." I put my head down. "We love you, you know."

"I love you guys too. But, I need someone to pick us up." I laughed.

"What time?"

"Are you sure?"

"What time?"

"11:45 in Seattle."

"I'll be there." His voice chocked up a bit. "Ally, you really don't know what you being there is going to do for all of us."

"I'll see you later tonight. Bye." I hung up the phone and got a text from Paul.

_**Not as much as we all love you. Tell your friend just to walk in. We'll be asleep. We were patrolling today. **_

"Paul says just to come in tonight and fall asleep. Both he and Jared had a long day and they're going to bed." Brittany nodded.

"Your friends seem to really love you." She said smirking.

"They really aren't just friends. They are like family. They are family." I said. I couldn't wait to see my brothers and sisters again but I was practically falling over at the excitement of being with half of my heart again.

**A/N- Can we all cheer? Yay! Jake and Ally! Meant to be, yes? We're getting toward the end of part II, one more chapter to go. Can anyone guess how this may or may not turn out? I'm sensing a reunion...and some surprises on the way! Review! I feel like such a broken record. Review!**


	18. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

_Ally P.O.V._

"…It's a beautiful cool day in Seattle, Washington. Thank you all for flying on Delta Airlines." I took a deep breath. We were home.

We left the plane and turned our phones back on. We went back through Security (far less crowded here) and went down the Terminal to baggage claim.

"ALLY!" Embry shouted from across the airport. I turned to Brittany, shot her a huge smile and then ran to who was my brother for all intents and purposes. I threw my arms around him and he lifted me up.

"Hey. You got skinny, kid." He said as he put me down.

"Yeah, well, I haven't been eating that much." I said, kissing his cheek. "Thanks for picking us up. Brit! Come here!"

Brittany came up to us, chipper as always. "Hi. I'm Brittany Hunter." She said holding out her hand. Embry looked at her as if to silently judge her.

"Did you convince Ally to come home and be with Jake?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

She nodded. "With some help from the Cullen's that is."

Embry stared at her for another few moments, before bursting into a smile and grabbing her into a huge bear hug. "You really don't know what you did. But, we all owe you a debt of gratitude."

"Thanks. I just wanted my friend to feel better and she always looks happiest when talking or thinking about you guys."

"See, I knew you loved us." He teased, hitting me in the ribs.

"I guess…." I sighed dramatically.

"Come on, sis." He said grabbing our bags and walking us out to his car.

We drove the three hours from Seattle to La Push, first stopping at the boy's apartment. I looked at Brit. "You going be okay?"

"Of course, I'm a big girl." She said, putting on a brave face.

"I'll see you tomorrow, alright? My phone will be on if you need anything."

"I'm good." She said, giving me a hug. She grabbed her duffel and guitar case and walked up the stairs to the apartment and walked on in. I stared at her as she left.

"Are you ready?" Embry asked, holding my hand quickly. I nodded and Embry drove me to Jake's house. He parked and let me off. "I'll be around if you need me. I'm sure everyone will want to see you tomorrow."

I nodded. "Thanks."

I grabbed my duffel and laptop and left the car into the pouring rain. I walked into the house and put my stuff down just on the floor in front of the door. I walked first into the Living Room, where Billy was asleep in his chair with the TV on. I grabbed the remote and turned it off.

"I was watching that." Billy mumbled.

"I'm sure you were." I giggled.

"Ally? Is that you? Are you an angel?" I sniggered.

"Yes, yes and not even close." I said walking over to him.

"Come here." He told me, holding his arms out. I readily jumped into them. "I am so glad you're here, Allyson. He'll be so happy you're here."

"Billy, I'm really sorry, for everything I put you all through. I didn't know it would be this bad." I said to him, tearing up.

"It's alright, my daughter. Just be there for him. He needs you. I don't know how much longer he would last without you." I nodded and kissed him on the cheek, walking down the hallway to Jacob's room. The door was shut, but I walked in anyway. Rachel was dozing off on the chair. At my sudden appearance, she woke up.

"Ally!" She exclaimed standing up giving me a hug. "I am so glad you are here. Never leave again."

"I only have a month off. Then I have to go back for 8 more weeks and be home for the summer." I said. Rachel looked me in the eye.

"I don't mean never physically leave. I mean, never emotionally leave again. He really can't live without you."

"I can't live without him either." I said, looking over at my poor, tortured love. He began tossing and turning.

"Ally…Ally…Ally…" He moaned. It broke my heart.

"Does he do this-" I started.

"Every night." She confirmed, walking out of the room, leaving us alone together for the first time since Sam and Emily's wedding, two long months ago. I walked over to the bed slowly and sat down.

He looked terrible. Gaunt. He had lost weight and gotten paler, like he hadn't been outside in months. Two months, probably. I couldn't believe that something I had done or said had done this to the one I loved. All those times he had been there for me, with all my family drama and my stupidity in following that drama to a fault. How did I let something come between what we had? Especially something he had no control over. I knew that. I knew that, and yet, I hurt him anyways. I felt like the worst human being on the planet. More importantly though, I felt like the worst Imprint on the planet.

Emily had left. After Sam lost his control with her and caused those scars on her face. But, she had come back within 6 hours. 6 hours and he had caused her permanent damage! Kim had left. After Jared told her about the whole Werewolf thing and she had freaked, but she was back in 2 hours. Rachel hadn't expected to imprint on the most volatile member of the pack, but she never left. Never. Her and Paul were completely stable. Tasha had broken up with Embry, but that was before she knew the big secret. After that they had been perfect. Rosie had taken the whole secret in stride, and though she didn't want to date Collin at the time, it wasn't because she didn't have feelings for him; it was because they were only fifteen! And, even though they weren't together, they were the best of friends. They told each other everything.

So why was I so weak? Jacob caused me no physical pain that he could control and I hadn't freaked out about the supernatural thing at all at first. So what was my problem? Why did I leave him? And why the fuck was it for two months! Why did something that had been explained, shake everything that I thought I knew? Why did I let it? I guess I just had to hope, that he felt it in his heart to forgive me. I had to hope that what I did to him wasn't irreversible. And, I guess, I had to do what I had previously been afraid to do. What had caused this whole mess in the first place…I had to swallow my stupid insecurities and stupid pride and take a leap of faith that Jacob wouldn't leave me again. But, more importantly, I had to hope that he knew I would never leave him again.

"Jacob. Jake. It's me. Ally." Jacob stirred and turned over, looking me straight in the eyes but not moving. I began sobbing. "Jacob. I am so sorry. The things I said were inexcusable. I was just scared. Scared about how much I was in love with you. Scared about how much I am still in love with you. I can't live without you. I tried and I've come to the realization that I need you. I need your spirit with me every day. I want to be able to hug you and kiss you and I want to be the girl that when people come up to you and ask if your single, you point to me and say no, that girl's my girlfriend."

"Is this real?" Jacob asked hoarsely. I nodded, tears still streaming down my cheeks as tears began to pool in his eyes.

"I love you." I said putting my hand near his and letting him make the next move.

"Oh, Ally." He sobbed and I threw my arms around his neck and he pulled me as close to him as possible. "I love you so much. I couldn't live without you either."

His face buried in my hair and he took a deep inhale. "I missed that smell. You. I love you."

I sighed contently as we held each other close for a long while. Finally, I pulled myself away. "Where do you think you're going? Don't leave me, yet!" He exclaimed, grabbing my arm as if I were to disappear.

"Oh no, no, no, no, sweetie, I'm just going to get you something to eat and drink. You look like you haven't had any nutrition in weeks. I'm not going anywhere." I said, kissing his cheek.

"You promise?" He said highly concerned.

"I promise. I want a spot in your bed when I come back. I miss sleeping next to you." I whispered. I got up and still saw his face covered in fear. "Here. I'll be back for this."

I took off my sweatshirt and gave it to him to show him with some degree of permanence that this wasn't a dream. I walked out and into the kitchen. I grabbed him a bottle of red Gatorade (his favorite) and a bit of soup from the fridge. I warmed it up and then brought the soup and Gatorade back into his room. I half expected him to have fallen back asleep but he was sitting up in bed staring at the door, waiting for me.

"You're back?" He said incredulously. I nodded seriously.

"I'm not going anywhere. Eat, please." I implored him. He nodded and grabbed the soup from me. I sat across the bed on the chair Rachel had previously been in.

"What are you doing?" He asked, while inhaling his soup.

"Sitting?"

"Where?"

"On the chair?"

"I thought you wanted to be in my bed." He teased. I smiled.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Jake had finished the soup and put the Gatorade on the bedside table, putting his arms out for me to jump into them. I definitely obliged. I put my arms around him and my legs tangled up in his, facing each other.

"Oh baby, you are so warm. I've missed my heating blanket." I said, relaxing into his body.

"I've missed my imprint." He said simply.

"Do you mean it?" I asked staring at his face intently reading for any misgivings. I saw none.

"Of course, I do." He said, pressing his lips to my face. We lay together for an eternity and eventually nodded off to sleep, making sure every inch of our body was attached when we did so.

_Brittany P.O.V._

I woke up to the smell of bacon, coffee and sausage wafting through the unfamiliar apartment. I looked around groggily and grabbed my phone next to me. 8:37a.m. I stretched and rubbed my eyes, ran a comb through my hair quickly and walked out of the room. As I walked into the Living Room as gently as possibly, taking in my surroundings, I saw two, impeccably ripped, shirtless boys in the kitchen making breakfast.

I cleared my throat. "Um…hi. I'm Brittany Hunter. Thanks for letting me stay here last night."

The smaller of the two very large guys looked up at me from the bagel he was stuffing in his face. "No problem, any friend of Ally's is a friend of all of ours. I'm Jared Pelletier and this is my roommate, Paul Meraz."

The other one waved and went back to cooking. "Take a seat and eat some breakfast. It's very rare for me to be cooking, so enjoy it."

"Paul's right. I think he's actually been in the kitchen about four times since we moved in here last year." Jared laughed while Paul threw a spatula at his head. I ducked, but Jared grabbed it with impeccable reflexes. I stood dumbfounded. As nice as these boys were, it felt incredibly awkward to be here. I was suddenly racked with the sense that I missed my best friend. As if on cue, my phone began vibrating.

_One new text from Ally Chase_

_**All is good. Thanks for making me come. The boys will take good care of you, I'm sure and I'll see you here at Jake's later. **_

I smiled and sighed a large sigh of relief. Ever since I had met Ally her eyes had seemed so sad, but I never knew why. All I knew was what she told me: that her boyfriend had cheated on her and she wanted some time to be alone. It wasn't until Ally and I had started hanging out at the Cullen's apartment that I had heard the real story. The girl that Jacob had "cheated" with had forced him to. She had blackmailed him into it, then, when he tried to tell Ally that she never listened. I had thought when she told me that she was coming here for her friend's wedding they would talk and get back together. However, when she came back, she just seemed sadder than ever. I had seen pictures in Renesmee's room of Ally and Jacob and they looked so happy. Jacob with a huge grin on his face and Ally's sparking blue eyes. I had never actually seen those eyes. When I finally brought up my concerns with the Cullen's, Bella told me that they had a special connection that could never be replicated, forcing Alice to come up with a plan. I was more than happy to help in any way possible.

I snuck into her school notebook and found the song Ally had written for him. I suddenly got the sudden inspiration to write the music and the rest was history. After she had run out and decided to come here, it only took me about 5 minutes to realize I wanted to be here as well. I wanted to make sure things worked out and I really wanted to officially meet my best friend, the one everyone else knew but me.

I sat down next to Jared and grabbed a few pieces of bacon, a pancake and an outrageously large cup of coffee. "Thanks. That text was from Ally. She said everything is good."

The boys looked at each other and grinned, making me smile as well. "So, uh, I'm sorry for stealing one of your rooms last night."

"No problem," Paul said offhandedly. "You actually stole Tasha's room. She's goes to school at UC Berkeley."

"Tasha! Oh, Ally's other best friend. She dates, Embry? Right?" I confirmed. He nodded. Suddenly, my phone started vibrating again, this time from a phone call. Bella Cullen. I muttered a really quick sorry and hopped up, turning the phone on as I turned away quickly.

"Hi, Bella." I said.

"Hey, Brittany. You're on speakerphone with everyone." Her bell like voice answered.

"Well, then hey, everyone." I giggled.

"Brittany, I just talked to your dean and told her about your brother's untimely illness." Edward said. I smiled. "He agreed to give you a pass for the next few weeks."

"That's awesome, Edward. Thank you so much." I said honestly.

"Have you heard anything yet?" Alice said and I could practically see hr jumping up and down.

"I haven't officially talked to Ally yet but I got a text saying everything was good. Hopefully, I'll see her later." I said. I heard Bella sigh on the other line.

"Good. Well, we'll let you go. Call if you need anything at all." Bella said to me.

"Thanks. I'll call you with info if I have any to share. Bye-bye." I hung up the line and went back to the kitchen table.

"Sorry about that." I apologized. "So, any big plans for today? Do you all have to work?"

They looked at each other quickly and then dropped their gaze. "No. Not today. I'm pretty sure we'll be having a bonfire tonight though."

"That sounds cool." I said awkwardly. I mean, I knew that I'd be staying here for a few days, but I didn't want to invite myself to things prematurely.

"You're invited obviously." Jared said. "Our girlfriends would love to meet you."

I smiled. "That sounds awesome."

We finished up breakfast and just as I was walking back to Tasha's room there was a knock at the door. It opened and revealed a tall, gorgeous girl with dark brown hair and a huge smile on her face.

"Hey, Rach." Jared said, plopping down the couch and putting on a movie.

"Hi!" She said perkily. "Where's Paul?"

"The shower. He'll be out in a minute. You seem happy today." He said smirking.

"I am. I really, really am. I was getting just as sick of it as you all were. I'm so glad she's back." Jared nodded. I was sure they were talking about Ally. The way that everyone I'd met here talked about her, it seemed like she was queen. It was comforting to see the way they all treated each other. Much better than the environment I'd grown up in. My parents were always at arms length with both me and my older brother. We had all the stuff we needed or wanted, great schools, a huge house, everything but love that is. I was positive growing up that my parents could care less about me. Everything was prim and proper "yes, sir" and "no ma'am". Except when I off-handedly told them I was going to be a musician. It was an instant cut off. And though I had anticipated it would be harder, it really wasn't. Far less stress and even though I had no where to go during vacations, I had made such good friends with Ally and the Cullen's the good far outweighed the bad.

"Are you Brittany?" The girl asked me, finally noticing I was still in the room.

"Yes. Brittany Hunter, Ally's roommate." She came over and gave me a huge hug.

"I'm Rachel Black. Jacob's older sister and Paul's girlfriend. I just wanted to say, whatever you did to get Ally back here, it is totally appreciated." She said to me and then looked at Jared. "They cooked breakfast together for me and Dad. It was awesome. He looked really happy."

"It's has been awhile." Jared confirmed. Wow, this break up must have been just as hard on Jacob as it was on Ally. I smiled and walked back into Tasha's room, feeling my phone vibrate as I went.

_One new text from Wes Rondon_

_**Brit. You and I are over. It's been coming for awhile. You know it too. I've been talking to Matt and he agrees. Don't text me back. I really don't want to talk to you anymore. I need to explore other avenues of my sexuality. **_

I'm sorry. Did he just break up with me and tell me he was GAY in the same text message while I was across the country? Seriously? What a dickhead! I couldn't believe it! I had always been so honest with him! I knew he and Matt were too close! Ugh! I decided to go out for a run. I grabbed my iPod and put on my workout clothes. When I walked out of the room, I saw Paul and Rachel, Jared and another girl, I guessed his girlfriend, sitting down watching a movie.

"Hey Brittany, want to join us?" Paul asked. I shook my head.

"I think I'm going to go for a run, actually. I've got some aggression to work out. I was just going to ask, Ally always talked about a really beautiful beach here. Could you direct me to it?" I asked.

"Sure, it's actually really close. Just like, a quarter of a mile to the right. I'm Kim." The unfamiliar girl said smiling.

"Nice to meet you and thanks, I'll be back soon. Uh, I left my phone number for you guys, just in case, I don't know, there isn't really a reason, but just in case." I said awkwardly as I waved and walked out.

I found the beach in a very short amount of time and ran on the coast thinking about me and Wes and how we were never as happy as those stupid couples I saw sitting on the couch today. Wes was my rebellion from my parents. They would have hated him. He was artsy, dangerous and just the kind of guy I was into….I thought. He was a film major at NYU and seemed to like me. But there was never any PDA, which now makes sense, because he's gay. The fact that he broke up with me over text message really didn't surprise me at all, which made me even more upset. How did I let him treat me like that? Is that all I was used to, growing up with my parents and brother, a hands-off type of love and affection. Maybe, I was incapable of love. Maybe my parents messed me up that badly.

I kept running while different possible song lyrics popped into my head as they often did when I was upset or emotional.

_Was I out of line, did I saw something way to honest,_

_Make you run and hide, like a scared little boy,_

_I looked into your eyes, thought I knew you for a minute,_

_Now I'm not really sure_

I closed my eyes to practically picture the chords being played as I breathed in the seaside air. Ally was right, it really was beautiful here. I had almost transported myself to my happy place when I crashed into something hard. A rock? I tripped and landed on my knees, then fell to my bottom. I sat stunned for a second and then my eyes fluttered open and I started busting up laughing. I was so clumsy. Laugh through the pain, Brit. Laugh through the pain.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!" I heard from a deep, concerned voice above me. It was then I realized what I had bumped into. It was a man. I looked down quickly to examine my scraped knee, which had now started to bleed quite a bit. Ow. Looking at it definitely made it worse.

The man I crashed into leaned down and started stuttering apologetically. "Oh, God, I am so sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"No, no, neither was I." I said, finally looking at his face. I was dumbfounded. He was the most stunningly beautiful boy I had ever seen. His russet skin was a perfect shade, reminding me of sunset, the most perfect part of the day. His eyes, dark chocolate brown, had a sense of sincerity I had never seen in a guy before. I felt like such an idiot, staring at his face unblinkingly, that it took me awhile to realize, he was staring at me as well. The self consciousness of the situation crept into my mind and I broke my gaze, blushing furiously.

_Seth P.O.V._

I had gotten off patrol about ten minutes ago, after not sleeping all night. All I wanted to do was go back home and fall straight asleep. Leah was God knows where, probably with one of the other guys, and my mom was more than likely in Forks with Chief Swan, her (gulp) boyfriend. Not that I didn't like Charlie. He was a perfectly nice guy and everything, but my dad had only died about two years ago. It was still fresh. Besides, they were getting serious, and I could just tell, marriage was possibly in their future. How awkward would that be? Step-sibling to a Vampire? Leah would just love that.

I could have kept in wolf form and jogged home quickly, but for some reason, I have no idea why, I decided to walk back to my house via the beach. As I was walking, I began thinking about anything but what I was doing. While I was phased, Jacob had phased as well, sharing his immense joy and happiness that Ally was back in his life and had lifted the ban that she didn't even know she had put into place. Jacob had only phased about twice since she had broken up with him. It became too difficult for the rest of us to share his thoughts so he decided to abstain. But today, it was like we had the old Jacob back and as happy as I was to have Ally back home, it was really hard being around him today. It just made me remember the fact that, Sam had an Imprint, was married and expecting a kid, Jared had an Imprint and wanted to move in with her, Paul had an Imprint and wanted to marry her, both Embry and Jacob had Imprints and were blissfully happy and Collin had an Imprint and had just gotten her to start dating him and couldn't be happier and Quil and had an Imprint and was so sweet with her, it made my head hurt. Seriously? Just me, Leah and Brady left? Maybe I couldn't Imprint. Maybe that was a Clearwater trait, neither of us could Imprint. I mean, Leah had already given up on love as it was and Brady was only 15. Why did the universe hate me of all people? I had put nothing but good karma into the universe and how does it decide to repay me?

My self-pitying thoughts were stopped very suddenly by a jab in my stomach and a thud. I looked over to see a top of a red haired girl, sitting stunned on the ground and then busting up laughing. I couldn't see her face, but I did see a rush of blood falling down her leg. "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!" I exclaimed. She still didn't look up. I leaned down to her level.

"Oh my God." I started again, stuttering on my words a bit at the sight on the blood on her leg. "I wasn't paying attention."

Then I heard her speak as her face looked at me for the first time. "No, no, neither was I."

Then I felt it. The sudden connection that made my world all about….her. Whoever she was. She was what was holding me to the universe. All ties I had previously made to the universe, the ones that I thought had held me here were all instantly burned away with a fire as red hot as her hair, were restrung in relation to her. All I could think of was a primal instinct to be with her. To protect my mate, my imprint, my everything. To be whatever she wanted me to be, whatever she needed me to be.

We stared at each other for an eternity and I could have kept staring until suddenly she looked down and her pale skin suddenly blushed a blush that would rival a pre-Vampire Bella. It was…she was….absolutely beautiful.

"Oh, man." She muttered in an adorable Southern accent, pressing her hand to her bloody leg. "Ouch."

She bit her lip nervously and looked back at me. I suddenly regained my voice and instincts. "Here, let me help." I pulled off my shirt and wrapped it around her leg.

She looked at me in amazement, which made me smile as I tied in tight around her cut like a tourniquet. "I'm Seth." She grimaced as I tied it tightly. "Sorry." I muttered. I hated that look on her face.

She shook her head quickly. "No, I'm okay. Thank you." She smiled. "I'm Brittany."

Brittany. It was a beautiful name, a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. We sat there in silence for a moment. Not necessarily an awkward silence, but not really a comfortable one either. "You're not from around here, are you?" I asked her.

She smirked and tugged at her hair self-consciously. "How could you tell?"

"It's not often we get people of your general paleness on our Rez. And, the accent was kind of a give away as well." She laughed.

"It's from Georgia. That's where I grew up. I'm just here on a…vacation, I guess." She attempted to stand up, then lost her balance and fell right on her butt again. "Okay. Guess I'm just going to live right here on this beach."

I laughed and helped her to her feet. "Can you walk?"

"I'm sure I can…nope. Uh, uh." She said, trying to gingerly take a step and then falling back to where she was at before.

I leaned down in front of her. "Here, hop on." I said offering her a piggy back ride. "I only live about a quarter of a mile from here. We can get that cut cleaned up at my place."

She looked at me curiously for a minute, probably wrestling with the "to trust or not to trust" issue, then nodded and threw her arms around my neck. I picked up her tall, slender frame easily and walked the small walk back to my house.

As I expected, no one was there when I walked in with Brittany. I put her down gingerly on the couch and went to grab some supplies from the medicine cabinet. When I got back to the Living Room, Brittany had the framed photo from the table in her manicured fingers.

"Is this your family?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, that was taken, about four years ago, when I was a Freshman and my sister was a Senior. Before my dad died."

I leaned down and untied my blood soaked t-shirt from her leg and began to clean it out. "You look really happy in that picture. And, your mom and sister are really pretty."

I cleaned up her leg and wrapped it in an ace bandage. Talking with Brittany was so easy. We spent hours, just sitting in the Living Room, hanging out. It felt really nice, like it was meant to be or something.

A bit of time passed before my front door opened. Probably my mom. "Hello? Seth, are you here? Leah?"

I heard Jake's happy voice from the entry way. "Hey, in here." I called back. "My friend, Jake." I explained to Brittany. She looked at me oddly and then her confused face turned to absolute delight at the sight of Jacob and Ally in my Living Room. I couldn't help but feel an ice ball of jealous energy in my stomach. Jacob was taken. I was not. Why was she so happy to see him?

"ALLY!" She squealed. Ally looked at her with wide eyes and then bounced over to her side.

"Okay, so many questions running through my head!" Ally exclaimed. "What are you doing here and what the Hell happened to your leg?"

"Oh, you know me, Ally, I was running and then my clumsy ass fell. Of course. Luckily, Seth here came to the rescue." She winked at me and my heart skipped a beat.

"Aw, poor baby." Ally frowned, giving her a hug; she then got up and walked over to me.

"Hey." She said motioning me over with one finger. I chuckled and gave her a big hug. "You look good, Sethy. Thanks for taking such good care of my roommate here."

"My pleasure." She had no idea how much. But, Jacob knew. I could see it on his face. "You look good too. Glad you're back."

"That is the common consensus." Jacob said, coming over and putting his arms protectively around Ally who smiled and sunk into the embrace.

"Oh! I am such a terrible friend. Brittany Hunter, this is my Jacob. Jake, this is my roommate, Brittany. She's pretty much amazing." Ally introduced, winking at Brittany. She grinned and my world brightened immediately.

_Alice P.O.V._

_"How did that not work, Aro! It was supposed to work! She was your plan! How was she destroyed?"_

_"A certain human seemed to be immune to her charms. Oh, my brothers, all is not lost. All is not lost."_

_"Why would that be?"_

_"The Meta did establish some new pieces of information for us before her life was tragically lost. Miranda was able to read poor Michalina's thoughts after her untimely death. She was able to relate that the shape shifters work on emotion. She was only able to infiltrate them with her highest amount of power. The wolves have soul mates, Imprints. They would do anything to protect them. They are unable to separate business from pleasure, giving us the advantage we were looking for."_

_"How?"_

_"In good time, my dear brother. In good time." _

"Alice? What do you see, darling?" Jasper asked me, shaking me out of my vision.

"The Volturi again. They haven't given up. They are still after us. Except now, they're after everyone." I said shortly.

"Everyone?" Rosalie asked, looking up from brushing Renesmee's curly dark red hair carefully.

"Everyone. Us. The wolves. Their Imprints. Everyone." I said hazily, trying desperately to find the vision again, but it was gone.

"So, what do we do?" Emmett asked, chomping at the bit.

"We wait." Edward said. "We wait and see."

The seven of us fell into an uneasy silence, not eagerly waiting what was to come.

**A/N- The end of Part II is among us. I'm finished with school, so now I can write, write and write. I have some great ideas for Part III, but it still needs a lot of help and tender, love and care. I can't say enough, please review. I need your inspiration. You're all my muses! Review and inspire! Thanks!**


	19. Interlude Part III

**A/N- I'm back! With 3 chapters uploading! This way, hopefully you all won't kill me for leaving Ally and Jake alone for so long. Please comment to tell me how much you missed me and them :-) Kthanksbye.**

**Intermission**

It was over. The pain, the torture, everything. It was over. Had I finally died? That would certainly make sense. There was no way that anyone could survive the pain that I just went through. No way.

My eyes snapped open to a whole new world. Everything was brighter, clearer and more vibrant than before. It looked like an alien planet. Definitely not the Earth I was familiar with. I took in my surroundings. I was in a room, a rustic, Italian looking room with red all around the walls. I began breathing heavily. What the Hell is this? Where am I? I was completely disoriented, scared, and beyond freaked out.

Then, as if in the blink of an eye…I turned it off. Turned off the emotion, the breathing, everything. Became as if I was stone…but how was I able to do that? Unless….no. Not possible. I got up lithely and walked to the corner of the large room. It had an enormous mirror, strategically placed for easy viewing. I stepped in front of it and saw…me? I guess.

My blonde hair had become brighter and more sun-kissed. The imperfect waves in it that I had once had were now straight, waving ever so gently down my back. My hair was the perfect length, to the small of my back. The once tan part of my skin from growing up in California was now completely faded and my skin was a white closer to the Cullen's. My eyes, once a crystal blue, were now red. Blood red. My lips, though I felt thirstier than I had ever been in my life were bright pink and an unbelievable contrast to the pale of my skin. Besides my face, everything in my body had been perfected. Any baby fat that I still had around my face, even at twenty-four years old was now gone. My breasts were larger and symmetrically impeccable. I had curves in all the correct places and I seemed to have grown an inch or two. Not too much, but enough to be noticeable by me. I was, in truth, completely beautiful. My hands were different…cold.

Of three things, I was absolutely certain.

Number one, I was a Vampire.

Number two, I was now an enemy of the Werewolf pack that I was the Alpha Female in.

Number three, no matter how much I knew that there was no way my husband would still be interested in me, now that I was the enemy, I couldn't turn off my love for him. It was impossible.

Now all I could do was hope that his love was just as irrevocable as mine.


	20. Chapter 17

**A/N- Here we go, the beginning of Part III. In reality, I probably could have made this a sequel...but I like having it all as one super story. And, believe me, this Part III will be long and full of action. You're going to love it. Review Please!**

**Chapter 17**

_Ally P.O.V. _

"…congratulations to New York University class of 2011. Good luck in everything you do and I'm sure we can all expect great things from you all." I grinned as we threw our hats in the air and cheered for four years work well done. It was a perfectly sunny day outside, meaning the Cullen's couldn't come. They assured me that they didn't mind, as they had all but Bella, graduated from college at least 10 times but it was still sad they couldn't be here with me. They had really become an extension of my own family.

"Ally! Oh my God! We did it!" Brittany said running up and giving me a huge hug. "We graduated!"

"I know! Brittany, I want to tell you that I am so glad you've gone through this college experience with me. Without you…I have no idea what I would have done. I love you." I said, a lump rising in my throat.

Brittany smiled and gave me another huge hug. "Well, I couldn't have done it without my Beta." She whispered.

I grinned at how lucky I was. In the last three years since Brittany and Seth had imprinted, the Pack had all gone through some amazing changes. Sam and Emily had a daughter, Juliet Alyssa Uley, who was now three as well as their newborn, Olivia Audrey Uley. Paul and Rachel had gotten married and were now expecting their first child, a daughter, in the next few weeks. Jared and Kim had gotten married as well and now had a two year old, Sahara Lilly Pelletier. Tasha had been accepted to medical school in Los Angeles and this time, Embry was going with her.

"Congratulations!" Jacob and Seth shouted, running up to us and giving us big hugs. The two of them had come down for our graduation and had brought Leah along with them. She was seriously considering moving up here after all we said about how amazing it was. I kissed Jacob sweetly and then rubbed the lipstick that had made its way from my mouth to his face off again.

"Thanks! Where's Leah?" Brittany asked, trying to look above the crowd until she spotted her. "Leah! Hey, Leah! Over here!"

She came over with a frown on her face. "Thanks for leaving me over there, annoying pups!" She growled. Then she turned to us with a smirk on her face. "Congrats, guys."

Out of the entire pack, Leah was definitely closest to Seth and Jacob, meaning both Brittany and I were quite concerned she would hate us. However, she actually ended up liking us the most. Score for us, because being on Leah's bad side was a bad place to be. Just ask Sam and Emily.

"So," Jacob said, pulling me aside. "I got you something for your graduation."

"What?" I asked eagerly. "What, what, what?"

"Come here." He said, pulling me away from Brittany, Seth and Leah and putting his abnormally large hands over my eyes. "I wasn't sure it'd get here on time."

"Can I guess?" I asked teasingly.

"Yeah, okay. But, I don't think you'll guess." Ooohhh…a challenge!

"Hmmm…a car?"

"No."

"A plane?"

"No."

"A kiss?" He leaned down and gave me a killer kiss and then said:

"No."

"Okay, okay, I give up." He put his head on my shoulder and took his hands off my eyes and I saw something I hadn't seen in years. A tall and pale, twenty something with dark curly hair and glasses stood in front of me awkwardly.

"Hello, Allyson." He smirked, with a smirk I recognized from my own face. My smile widened to such a point it made my teeth hurt.

"Joshy!" I exclaimed, running over to my older brother and giving him an outrageously large hug. "Josh, what are you doing here? I thought you were last in Los Angeles working for Paramount!"

My older brother, Joshua Cayden Chase, left my mom's house when he was 18, I was 15 and our younger siblings were 9. He went to UCLA and got a degree in Cinematic Arts and began working for Paramount. The last time I had actually saw him in person was when I was 15. Six years later and it seemed like no time had passed. "I was just transferred out here, so when Jacob told me when your graduation was, I figured I would come by early. That way I'd see you before you start your job in Port Angeles."

"Surprised?" Jacob asked me smiling.

I grinned. "Very. Thank you!"

Josh, Jake and I talked for awhile before Leah came sulking up to us. "So, if we were going to the Cullen's for dinner, we should leave soon or whatever."

I chuckled. No matter how close the Cullen's and the Pack are now, some things would never change. "Leah, this is my brother Josh Chase. Josh, this is one of my very good friends, Leah Clearwater."

And that's when I saw it. The look on Leah's and Josh's face were an identical match of wonderment. Was this what I think it was? Did Leah just imprint on my often absent, however loveable older brother? No. Way. I looked to Jacob with wide eyes. He looked amused and nodded. Seriously? Is that how Jake and I looked? I sighed and intertwined my fingers with my imprints while Josh and Leah made small talk with the same smolderingly intense looks on their faces.

_Jacob P.O.V. _

"I miss you too." I told my Ally over the phone when she called on her lunch break. "I can't wait until you're home. It doesn't seem fair to have my dad moved out if I'm the only here." I complained. Dad had recently moved to Hawaii to retire and be with my older sister Rebecca during her divorce. Rebecca and her ex-husband Nico had 2 kids, my nephews Logan and Landon so Dad was going to help raise them. However, before he left, he gave me and Ally the house. It wasn't much, especially since we had essentially been living together on and off for four years, it seemed much more considerable due to what I was planning tonight.

"You aren't the only one there, babe! I'm only gone nine hours a day at the studio. Plus, if you get bored, you could always go over to Paul and Rachel's and play with baby Chloe." Very funny. Baby Chloe was not a Black. She was a Meraz all the way. Annoying and always screaming her head off. Just like Paul. I loved her because I was her Uncle Jake and I happened to be the best Uncle ever (just ask Nessie) but jeez, a few hours with them was taxing.

"Ha ha." I said wryly. "Promise our kids will never be like that."

"Kids?" She teased. "Do you know something I don't know?"

I smiled. "I love you. I want to have kids with you."

She laughed. "I want to have kids with you too, but maybe we should think about marriage first, yeah?"

Was she onto me? "Uh, yeah." I stuttered. Nice save, Jake. Very nice. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice.

"Oh! Jake, sorry, babe but I have to go. Little Melissa is trying to jump on the ballet bar again. See you tonight." She said as she quickly hung up the phone before I could even say goodbye. Ugh. I needed to go for a run. Get some aggression out.

I walked outside and shed my clothes as I phased. To my surprise, most everyone was phased already. Sam, Jared and Paul, who all had children of their own now had started the process to stop phasing, so they weren't there, but even Embry and Leah who lived out of state in California and New York respectively were out right now.

_Hey Jake._ Seth said meeting me in the clearing he, Brady, Collin and Quil were already in.

_Oh hello, oh mighty Alpha._ Leah teased. She had been so much nicer since Imprinting and moving in with Josh.

_Very funny, Leah._ I said, wishing I could smack her around but knowing she was too far away.

_Are you ready for tonight?_ Quil asked.

_Shut up!_ I muttered.

_He's going to do it tonight?_ Embry asked. He and Tasha, though planning to wait until she was done with med school to get married had caved in just last month and they had gone off and eloped. To say Ally was pissed was a bit of an understatement.

_Yep._ Seth said.

_Shut up!_ I tried again.

_Seriously? When? _Leah asked.

_Where?_ Brady interrogated.

_What time?_ Collin asked.

_Yeah, what's the plan?_ Asked Quil

_ENOUGH!_ I exclaimed. _Yes, I am doing it tonight. I am going to ask Ally to marry me. Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?_

_Yeah._

_Yep, that's pretty much it._

_No! That's not nearly enough. I. Need. Info! _Leah exclaimed. _Josh will want to know everything._

_Yeah, and we couldn't let Josh down could we?_ Embry teased.

_If you weren't on the other side of the country, I would kick your ass, Call!_

_Okay, okay, okay. No fighting. Anyway, I just came to blow off some steam but I'm going to go get ready for tonight. Be good and no one come near my house tonight. If you do, I am in no control of what you see. _I teased.

_Ewwww! _Said Brady

_My young ears! _Exclaimed Collin.

_You guys are 17!_ Leah shouted

_And, you're imprinted, Collin!_ Quil said.

_Still!_ Collin retorted, sputtering.

_We don't want to think of Ally that way!_ Brady yelled.

_Gross!_ Collin finished.

I growled at them but then bid my goodbyes and went back to the house to get ready for the most important night of my life so far.

_Ally P.O.V._

"…5, 6, 7, 8 and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and 7 and pose." I demonstrated the pose I wanted my 5-7 year old Ballet class to accomplish. "Excellent job girls! Fantastic! Take a seat everyone. You too, Melissa."

"Alright, everyone. The performance is next week, so be sure to tell me how many tickets you need. And no, Claire, you can't have any more than 10." Claire Young's face fell immediately. Claire, now six years old, I had known for years as she was Quil's Imprint and would eventually be in my Imprint Pack but now I was her beginning Ballet teacher and I had to keep my distance. It was much harder than I thought it'd be. I mean, she was family after all. "Does anyone else have any questions?"

Seven year old Melissa's hand shot straight up. "Yes, Miss Melissa?"

"Miss Ally, do you have a boyfriend because I want you to marry my older brother!" She exclaimed. Before I could respond, Claire looked at her sharply.

"NO! Miss Ally does have a boyfriend and they are very happy together!" Claire shot back.

"My brother would be way better!"

"NO! She dates my Uncle Jake! And he's awesome! They're going to get married! Quil told me so! He said, Jake is going to ask her really soon. So there!" Claire said defensively sticking her tongue out at Melissa.

"Okay, girls. That's enough. Yes, Melissa, I do have a boyfriend. But, thank you for thinking of me. Alright, class dismissed. Claire, please stay after."

I watched all nine other girls in my class leave with their parents as Claire came up to me nervously. "Don't be nervous, honey. I'm not mad at you."

"Good."

"I just had two questions for you. Make sure you answer them honestly, okay?" I said, willing all of my Alpha Female powers on the poor six year old. "Do you want the easy one first or the hard one?"

"Easy."

"Am I driving you home today?" Class was three times a week and I usually drove her to back to La Push with me at least two of those to spend time with Quil and Sam, Emily, Juliet and Olivia.

"No, my mommy is picking me up today."

"Okay, now this question is really important. When did Quil tell you that Uncle Jake was going to ask me to marry him?" Claire bit her lip. I'm sure she was told not to tell anyone, but I really, really, really wanted to know. "It's okay, sweetie. You can trust me."

It took her a few seconds, but she finally relented. "He told me a few days ago, I guess. He told me to be extra nice to Uncle Jake this week because he was nervous that you'd say no. So, I made him a card!"

I laughed. She was so sweet! "Thanks, Claire. I think your Mommy's here. You can go."

"Okay." As she walked out the door to meet her mom, she turned back to me one more time. "Hey, Ally?"

"Yes?"

"Don't say no."

I smiled. "Claire, if he asks, I'll say yes."

Claire beamed and skipped out the door to her mom. I grabbed my gym bag, said goodbye to everyone at the studio and hopped in my Jeep, ready to take the 45 minute long commute home.

As I pulled up to the driveway, the first thing I noticed was that no one else's car was in the driveway. Seth and Brittany practically lived with us, since their crappy apartment was barely big enough for both of them to stand in. Being a struggling artist didn't pay as much as Brittany originally anticipated. I parked and walked in the dark house curiously. Did Jake go to Brit and Seth's? Because we hang there as little as humanly possible, it didn't make any sense. I walked into the room we shared and put my bag down, turning on the light.

On the bed, I saw Jacob, dressed in a pair of jeans that I had picked up for him last time we went shopping and a really nice button down shirt. He was sitting on the edge of the bed with a single red rose in his hand.

"Hi." I said nervously. "You look nice."

"Hey yourself. This is for you." He handed me the rose and I could tell he was shaking. Not in a way that meant he was going to phase, but in a way that showed me he was really, really nervous.

"Thanks, babe. What's going on?" I asked smirking.

"I wanted to do this better." He muttered.

"Do what, better?"

"Ally…I…Ally…uh…" I bit my lip. I figured I'd put him out of his misery a bit. I grabbed his hands in mine and sat down on his lap.

"You can tell me anything. You know that, right?" I said, adjusting myself so that I could see his face.

"Ally. I love you. I love everything about you. If I had dream up the perfect woman, the one I wanted to spend my life with…she wouldn't even come close to you. You're everything. My other half and I should have done this a long, long time ago." He helped me stand up and then knelt in front of me with a ring box in his hand.

I knew it was coming, but that didn't mean I wasn't completely overwhelmed. The ring itself was beautiful. One of a kind. "Jacob. It's….it's…"

"It was my mom's. She left it to me when she died."

"Jacob….it's perfect. I love it." I said emotionally.

"So, does that mean yes?" He asked, the upsides of his mouth turning into a smile.

"Yes!" I squealed beaming. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Jake put the gorgeous ring on my finger and then grabbed me around the middle. I threw my arms around him and wrapped my legs around his waist. "I love you so much!"

"I love you too. I am so happy you're going to be Allyson Black." I giggled and untangled my arms from his neck, grabbing the sides of his face and kissing him gently. Little by little, we deepened the kiss until our tongues were playing a game of hide and seek in each other's mouths. I ran my fingernails up and down his hair before we stopped kissing enough to look at each other. He stared at me with so much love and adoration in his eyes, it made me wet just anticipating the night. He was still holding me up on his body, so I took advantage of the fact that I didn't need to hold myself up to start unbuttoning his shirt. Once that pesky over shirt was off, I hopped down from the perch I had created on his body.

"I want you so bad." I whispered in his ear lustfully, already breathing hard and making him shiver. His lips captured mine again as he unzipped my sweatshirt, leaving me in my undershirt as well. This definitely wasn't the first time the two of us had sex but this time felt totally different to me. I felt far more powerful and in control than I ever had before. Usually, I let him be in control, but this time, it was my turn. I pulled off my undershirt as fast as I could and helped him yank off his as well. I then wrapped my arms around his back and began putting little kisses down his stomach, stopping only where his jeans were still attached to him. I unbuttoned those, leaving them on the floor, God knows where as he unbuttoned mine as well, leaving both of us in our underwear and me in my bra.

He obviously was far stronger than me but I gently pushed him down on the bed, showing him that I was in charge tonight and then I slunk on the bed after him. His penis began enlarging and getting hard right near my stomach. I pulled down his boxers, no longer wanting pesky clothing between us. He took his large hands and took of my bra, then massaging my breasts. I couldn't keep it in, I let out a moan, encouraging him to go harder and faster. I leaned down almost on top of him and began massaging his penis as he massaged my breasts.

"Oh, Ally. This is so good. So hot. I can't…."

"Last for me, babe, we aren't done yet." I moaned, massaging him faster.

"Ally, I….oh God, Ally…I can't….I'm ready to…." He moaned harder. I nodded.

"Jake. I'm close, babe. I'm close. Hold on for me." I practically screamed. "Hold on."

"Ally….please. Let's, oh God, please." He moaned more. The way my name came off his lips made me wetter and wetter. He started to turn me over to go missionary like we usually did, but I stopped him.

"No, Jake. No. I got it." I let go of his penis and leaned in to him as close as possible.

"What did you want, Jake? What'd you want me to do?" I asked seductively.

"Ally, let me inside you. I need to feel you tight around me!" He stuttered. I wasn't done teasing yet. Almost.

"What?" I asked again.

"Stop teasing me baby, please!" I nodded, wiping the sweat off my face. I placed his penis in my dripping wet vagina and bounced up and down, trying my best to hit the g-spot each and every time.

"That's it….feels so good, Ally." I was still breathing heavy but I knew it was almost over.

"Oh God, Jake. I love the way you say my name!" I exclaimed bouncing up higher, faster and harder. Jacob rubbed the nub as I did, making me closer and closer.

"Say my name, Ally. Say it." At that moment, we both climaxed.

"Ugh, Jake! I love you, Jake!" I screamed.

"Ally!" He moaned. We basked in our orgasm, snuggling up to each other in everyway possible, taking a small break before we would no doubtably take another shot at it later that night. I knew I was going to love being engaged.


	21. Chapter 18

**A/N- Here is is! The next chapter, read and review, pretty please :-)**

**Chapter 18**

_Leah P.O.V._

I walked into my house after the ridiculously long shift I had at the local bar with a headache the size of New York City itself. I loved New York City; the lights, the fact that it was constantly awake, no one knew me here and, more importantly, that Josh was here with me. Almost instantly after meeting and imprinting, we decided to move in together. Why wait, right? And…just like Ally, he was really good with weird stuff. He completely supported the fact that we were all Werewolves and lived near a family of Vampires. He actually said that Ally's relationship with Jacob now made much more sense.

He was so good to me. Shy, which I definitely wasn't used to with my brothers, but he loved me and I loved him more than I ever thought possible. Even though we'd only been together four months, we were preparing for our wedding next week. It was going to be really small and Ally, my maid of honor, was taking care of everything before we even arrived in Washington next week.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by a rising pain in my stomach. "Oh shit!" I sprinted to the bathroom and puked inside the toilet, over and over and over again. I was so sick, I didn't even notice Josh coming in and holding my thick dark hair back so that it didn't fall in front of my face.

"Hey. Are you alright, Lee?" Josh asked me. I nodded.

"Uh huh." I said, before throwing up all over the toilet again. I couldn't remember the last time I threw up. Werewolves don't get sick. They just don't. "I'm sure it's something about me stopping phasing. I'll call Sam, Paul or Jared and see if they've had any issues with it as well."

"If you're sure," Josh said carefully, lightly brushing my face. "I'm going to get you some 7-Up and some crackers. You go lay down."

I nodded and walked to our room, lying down on the bed. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Sam and Emily's house number.

"Hello?" A small, perky voice answered the phone. I smiled.

"Hi, Juliet. It's Leah. Can I talk to your Daddy?" I said tiredly.

"Hi, Auntie Leah! Did you know? Mommy and Daddy are having another baby!" The four year old shouted excitedly. Would they ever stop popping out kids? This was number 3 in four years.

"That's great, Juliet. Can I talk to your Dad?" I tried again. I was just way too tired to talk to her. She was too excited for my little amount of energy.

"Sure, hold on. DADDDDDDYYYYYY!" She screamed, just barely away from the phone. Ugh, my oversensitive ears!

"Hi, Leah." Sam's deep voice greeted me over the phone. "We're all really excited for the wedding next week."

"Thanks. Um, I was hoping to talk to you. As a former Alpha." I said sounding like death itself. He picked up on my tone, as he always did and asked what was wrong. "I don't know, I'm feeling really sick and keep puking. I think it might have something to do with me stopping phasing. Did you or any of the other guys have that problem?"

"No. It was surprisingly easy for me. And for Jared, as well. Paul had some trouble keeping his temper in check, but no one got sick that I know of."

"Hmm…." I said cautiously. "Then I don't know what the Hell is wrong with me!"

"I don't know either, Leah. Do you need anything? We could send something over if you want. Express Mail since you'll be here in a week."

"No, I'll be okay." Suddenly, I smelt something in my house. Something I was not a fan of. "Sam, I gotta go. I'll see you next week, okay?"

He said goodbye and I hung up. Then I saw the smell that had invaded my house. "Dr. Cullen. What a surprise." I said shortly.

"Leah," Josh said warningly as he came to sit next to me. "I called Dr. Cullen. You can't just go to a random doctor. At least he knows Werewolf physiology."

I sighed. Though things between myself and The Cullen's had gotten better since we moved into the same city, they still weren't my favorite people. Years of breeding against the "Cold Ones" couldn't change overnight. "Okay. Sure."

Dr. Cullen walked over to me and then stopped abruptly. "Well, aren't you going to examine me?" I asked somewhat rudely.

"I don't have to." He said, corners of his mouth turning upwards. "You're pregnant. I can hear the heartbeats."

"No way! I mean, I can't be pregnant! Werewolves don't get…heartbeats? As in, more than one?" I said, eyes widening.

"Yes. Two. You've got to be about, three months along." He said. I looked at Josh, who just stared back at me. We weren't even married yet!

"Wow." I said, eyebrows raised. A baby? Babies? Wow.

"Wow." Josh said emotionally, intertwining our fingers together.

"Wow." Dr. Cullen agreed with us, smiling.

_Ally P.O.V._

Planning a wedding was a lot of work as it is. Now add that it's a female Werewolf's wedding. Now add that it's my brother's wedding. Now add that Werewolf was pregnant with twins and incredibly hormonal. That's close to the Hell I'd been going through the last month. That's right. A month. That's all Josh and Leah gave me to prep their wedding. Seriously? I walked down the hallway of Jake and my house where he was sitting watching TV. I snuck up behind him and put my arms around him.

"Let's elope." I whispered in his ear. He turned to me and smiled, giving me a kiss.

"We can't do that, Ally." He said teasingly. "Your siblings and dad and my siblings and dad are all going to come. Having trouble with the wedding planning, babe?"

I sighed and plopped down next to him. "Yes, and it's not even our wedding!" I said dramatically.

He grinned and pulled me close. "Well, it'll all be over tomorrow and then they are going back to New York and Leah can annoy Josh with her crazy demands."

I laughed. He was right, the wedding was tomorrow. I could survive until then. I thought.

The wedding day had arrived. It was going to be a small wedding, just the pack and their family's and the Clearwater family. Marissa and Carson, now in their Senor Year, wouldn't be able to make it, as they had midterms and my Dad and Siena wouldn't make it either. Apparently, Siena wasn't allowed to fly…she was 8 months pregnant. I know, right? I was getting a sister and a niece or nephew around the same time? Um, gross. I did not want to think of my Dad...doing that...especially because Siena was only about seven years older than me.

The wedding that I had slaved over for a month went off without a hitch. It took place in the Clearwater's backyard, with me as Maid of Honor and Brittany, Emily and Rachel as the bridesmaids. The Best Man was Seth with Jacob, Sam and Paul as the Groomsmen. Leah looked gorgeous. She wore a short sleeve, white dress that puffed out at the bottom like a princess and the cut just fit over her new baby bump beautifully. The colors were red and black, and I got to pick the bridesmaid dresses, meaning nobody hated them. It was perfect.

When it was time for my toast, I stood up and clicked my glass. I could do it, I could do it, I could do it. "Hi, everyone. I'm the Maid of Honor, Allyson Chase, Leah's close friend and Josh's younger sister. Now, I have plenty of stories to share about Josh, since he is my brother and everything, however, tonight is also about Leah, and I have something to say about her. Leah Clearwater, now Chase, saved my life. Not a lot of people know that, but because of her courage and her strong sense of right and wrong, I am where I am and who I am today." I said, tears starting to fall down my face. "and I really wanted to thank her. I'm not that good with words. Music has always been part of my life. So, fellow bridesmaid Brittany Hunter and I decided to sing one of Leah's favorite songs and want everyone to dance along. This is for you, Leah." I walked up to the front of the reception, where Brit was already there with her guitar.

"Ready?" I asked. Brittany nodded and started to strum the first few chords.

_**What would you think if I sang out of tune,  
Would you stand up and walk out on me.  
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,  
And I'll try not to sing out of key.  
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,**_

I sang, following Brittany's guitar leads. I saw Jacob go up and ask Leah to dance, which made me smile.

_**Mmm, I get high with a little help from my friends,**_

Brittany sang, far better than I did, but that wasn't really the point.

_**Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.**_

_**What do I do when my love is away?**_

I asked Brittany with a raised eyebrow.

_**Does it worry you to be alone?**_

Brittany countered.

_**How do I feel by the end of the day?**_

I asked again.

_**Are you sad because you're on your own? **_

Brittany answered with a question.

_**I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm, get high with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm, gonna to try with a little help from my friends**_

We both sang watching Seth ask Tasha, who had come down from Los Angeles for the wedding, to dance and Embry going over asking Emily as Sam asked Rachel to dance.

_**Do you need anybody?**_

I asked.

_**I need somebody to love.**_

Brittany answered.

_**Could it be anybody?**_

I asked.

_**I want somebody to love.**_

Brittany answered back.

_**Would you believe in a love at first sight?  
**_

Brittany asked.

_**Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time.**_

I sang back staring at my Imprint on the dance floor and I saw Brittany staring at hers as well.

_**What do you see when you turn out the light?**_

Brittany asked as Paul grabbed Kim around the middle and spun her around.

_**I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.**_

I said watching Josh ask little Claire to dance and Seth grabbing Sam and Emily's two year old Olivia and swinging her around.

_**Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Ooh, I get high with a little help from my friends **_

_**Mmm, gonna try with a little help from my friends**_

We sang together as we saw Jared and Rosie start to dance together and saw Collin take Jared and Kim's daughter, Sahara from Jared and began to dance like a robot, much to her delight.

_**Do you need anybody?**_

I asked.

_**I need somebody to love.**_

Brittany sang back.

_**Could it be anybody  
Oooh, Oooh!  
By with a little help from my friends  
High with a little help from my friends  
Try with a little help from my friends  
By with a little help from my friends**_

We sang together seeing Quil pick up four year old Juliet Uley and brave Brady picking up six month old Chloe, Paul and Rachel's daughter and making them shriek with delight.

_**I get by with a little help from my friends**_

I sang.

_**With a little help from my…**_

Brittany continued.

_**Friends...**_

We sang together and held out the note for awhile before hugging and then rushing down to hug Leah and Josh. They looked so happy together. I knew, just knew that everything with them would work out perfect. I just knew it.

Josh and Leah Chase left shortly after their ceremony for their Honeymoon in the Bahamas, leaving the rest of us to do the clean up. That was okay. It was paying it forward so that when Jake and I got married, we wouldn't have to stick around to do the clean up either.

_Seth P.O.V._

"Hey. Hey, Seth!" I heard my love whisper in my ear. "Hey, babe. Wake up!"

I woke with a start. "What? What? What's going on?"

Brittany smiled. "Nothing. I just had an idea." She said with a wicked smile on her face.

I rubbed my eyes trying to wake up. "What?" I asked a bit more alert now.

She stared at me, with bright blue eyes wide open. "It's Christmas Eve."

I looked at the clock. She was right. 4 a.m., Christmas Eve. "Yeah?" I said curiously. Usually I knew what my adorable girlfriend's crazy ideas were, or at least had a bit of an idea, but not this time. I literally had no idea what she wanted.

"I think I want to marry you." She said quietly, still staring me in the eyes.

"Well, I want to marry you too, babe." I said cautiously. Where was she going with this?

"No, I mean today. I think I want to marry you today. I want to wake-up and go to the Courthouse in Forks with just us and two witnesses and I want to marry you today." She said, her eyes pleading.

"What brought this on? Are you drunk?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course not, Seth! I just want to marry you today. I don't want to be Brittany Hunter anymore. I want to be Brittany Clearwater. I want to marry you. Today." She said eyes pleading. "Unless…you don't want to?"

"Brit, of course I want to marry you. I'd marry you right now if I was sure it was what you wanted. It just seems so sudden."

"I know! That's the best part. It's impetuous and fun and I want to marry you!" She said, leaning even closer to look me in the eyes. "Do you want to?"

"Brittany, I…"

"No, Seth. No buts. Do. You. Want. To. Marry. Me?" She said, separating each and every word with her lips on my mouth. It only took me about two seconds to say…

"Hell yeah!"

"Yes!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. "Let's go! Let's do it!"

"Now?" I asked.

"Now." She confirmed, hopping up from the bed and grabbing a light pink cocktail dress from her side of the closet and a white button up and black tie from my side and throwing them on the bed.

"You get ready." She said forcefully. "I'm going to call Jake and Ally to come with us. Oh my God, I am so excited!" She squealed, running out of the room to the kitchen, where our phones were charging. She came back, a few seconds later, with the phone attached to her ear.

"They won't answer." She complained as she looked at the phone and called the number again. Good thing I still had incredible Wolf hearing so I could hear both sides of the conversation.

"Hello?" Ally's groggy voice answered the phone. I heard an equally groggy Jake ask who it was.

"Hey, Ally! Look, I know it's early…"

"Early? Brit! It's 4 a.m. You of all people should know I so rarely wake up before 9 a.m. I don't even know what it looks like outside."

"I know, I know, I know, but look…Seth and I are going to elope. Like right now. We want you and Jake to be our witnesses."

"WHAT?" Ally screamed over the phone prompting Jacob to say "what, what, what, what, what?" still incredibly groggily.

"They're getting married." Ally hissed at him.

"What's the big deal?" Jake asked. "We all knew it was coming."

"No. They're getting married, today! Like right now!" Ally hissed back, prompting Jacob's "WHAT?" I chuckled. It was like listening to Venus and Serena Williams.

"Yep. We're getting ready to go and get married right now and we want you two to be our witnesses. Will you do it?" Brittany asked into the phone, hardly containing her excitement.

"Of course we will!" Ally said. "We'll be at your apartment in 30, okay? I need my coffee!"

Brittany laughed. "Sure. We'll be here. And Ally?"

"Yeah, Brit?"

"I am so excited!" She said practically jumping up and down.

"I know, hun. We'll be there soon. Bye."

"Bye-Bye." Brittany said hanging up the phone and grabbing her dress, giving me a passionate kiss and throwing it on quickly. I smiled. How did I get so lucky? This impetuous thing was so hot!

Jacob and Ally arrived in thirty minutes, just like they said they would, with Jacob in a cream button down with a light blue tie and Ally in a short blue cocktail dress in the same shade as Jacob's tie, with a huge bag of bagels and a tub of cream cheese telling us to at least eat. We crammed some bagels down fast and were off and ready to go.

The wedding itself was beautiful. I mean, my sister's wedding had been nice but ours was just so personal, so special. It was a sacred thing between the two of us that only our closest friends Ally and Jacob were there to witness. I couldn't have asked for anything better and I knew Brittany felt the same.

After the wedding, we all went to get some dinner and just relax with friends as a married couple. It was exhilarating. During one of the many times over dinner that I just stared at the new Brittany Clearwater, I heard Ally lean over and hiss in Jacob's ear.

"How long have we been together, babe?" She said sweetly. Too sweetly.

"Uh, I don't know…about 5 and a half years."

"That's right. And Seth…" She started, still sweetly looking at me. I didn't like where this was going.

"Don't bring me into this, Ally."

"Seth? How long have you and Brittany been together?"

"I don't want to answer this…" I muttered. Brittany rolled her eyes, coming to her best friend's defense.

"4 years." Brittany said smiling.

"4 years? Hmmm….just something I'm wondering, Jake. Just a little thing…Why aren't we married yet?" She asked, the sweet demeanor turning into sarcasm. "I mean, Sam and Emily Uley, Jared and Kim Pelletier, Paul and Rachel Meraz, Embry and Tasha Call, Seth and Brittany Clearwater, Josh and Leah Chase and….Jacob Black and Ally Chase. Something sound wrong here?" She said. We could all tell she was kidding; however there was a tinge of truth to her words. Jake and Ally had been together for a really long time.

"In May, honey. You can wait another five months can't you?" He said, giving her the exact same puppy dog look I had given Brittany a million times.

"I guess." She murmured sending my wife a wink. They had totally planned this, those manipulative little monsters. I looked at Jake questioningly and he just shook his head, kissing Ally on the cheek. Even when they were little monsters, we couldn't help but love them.


	22. Chapter 19

**A/N- I really like this chapter. It's the beginning of what I like to call, the snowball effect...read and review. **

**Chapter 19**

_Ally P.O.V. _

I woke up at Brittany and Seth's apartment in a stupor. Where was I? Their bed? I looked around groggily and saw both Marissa and Brittany passed out in the bed as well. What the Hell happened last night? I got up with a huge headache….hangover? Ugh. I walked out to the living room to see Kim, Rachel, Emily, Leah and Tasha sprawled on the couches and the floor. Geez, did everyone get fucked up last night? Well, not Rachel, she was seven months pregnant. My eyes were still squinting as I walked into the kitchen to see Bella, Alice, Rosalie and Renesmee in the kitchen. Why were they already awake? Oh, right, they don't sleep.

"Hello, bride. Want some coffee?" Rosalie's cheery voice asked me.

"Ughhhh…" I moaned. "Coffee. Good."

"Someone drank too much last night." Renesmee admonished. I nodded.

"I don't even remember anything last night." I said quietly, grabbing the cup of coffee gratefully.

"So, you don't remember Brittany's retarded neighbors calling the cops and my dad coming to break up the party?" Bella laughed.

I shook my head. That did not ring a bell.

"Or your drunk calls to Jacob?" Alice asked, laughing. Again, I shook my head. Oh, shit. What did I say?

"You don't remember you, Brittany and Tasha teaching everyone to strip?" Rosalie asked. I shook my head fervently. No way. Ugh, drinking was apparently not my friend.

In the next thirty minutes, everyone ended up waking up as well, completely hung over. Even Rosie and Marissa, who were both underage, were hung over as well. Awesome. I was such a great role model. The four Vampires made everyone breakfast, eggs, bacon and toast, which was really nice of them and after breakfast, everyone but my maids of honor and bridesmaids left back to their houses or at least, the houses they were staying at while in town. Brittany and Tasha were my Maids of Honor and Marissa, Leah and Bella were my Bridesmaids. By the time it was only the six of us left it was already 10:00am and the wedding was set to start at 2:00pm. Oh my God! That was not enough time at all.

To say I started freaking out might have been a bit of an understatement. I possibly heard the words "Calm down, Ally" about 100 times in the last four hours. We arrived at the church about 1:30 and before I even knew what was happening, it was time to get married. And, even more shockingly, my dad was there and on time enough to walk me down the aisle. I had Sam on stand by, just in case, but it turned out that the million times he wasn't there for me, he was attempting to make up for now.

Marissa and Carson walked down the aisle first. Marissa in a red spaghetti strapped dress with a low cut square neck and Carson in a suit with a red tie. They were followed by Seth and Bella, Bella in her tank top, v-neck, red bridesmaid dress and Seth in the same suit as Carson. Then Leah and Josh, with Leah in her high necked red dress with a large keyhole in the front and Josh in the suit all the guys were wearing. Following them was one of my Maids of Honor, Brittany with one of Jake's Best Men Quil, Brittany in spaghetti strapped, v-neck, low cut dress that was open in the back. After them was Tasha, my other Maid of Honor in a short sleeved dress with a large bow in the front and Embry, Jake's other Maid of Honor. Then it was my turn. I took my dad's arm and walked down the aisle in front of hundreds of people. However, once I saw Jacob waiting for me at the end of the aisle, I could think of nothing else besides him. He flashed me one of his winning smiles and I melted. Absolutely melted.

_Jacob P.O.V._

Honestly, I was barely even listening to the minister. I was just staring at her, Ally, my very soon to be wife.

"Do you, Allyson Savannah Chase, take Jacob Ephraim Black to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." She had a little smirk on her face which made me chuckle silently. Of course she did. She wasn't one of those girls that got all emotional and tear filled. Which I kinda loved. A lot.

"And do you, Jacob Ephraim Black, take Allyson Savannah Chase to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." I smiled matching hers.

"I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." We were both beaming at this point as I leaned over and kissed her as everyone clapped. We looked around at everyone around us smiling as we walked out of the building.

"Hey you." She whispered to me as we walked down the outside stairs and to our reception area to get in our spot for the receiving line.

"Yeah?" I asked curiously.

"We did it." She said simply, kissing me on the cheek. We did. And everything was perfect. Until about thirty minutes into the ceremony. We were standing in the receiving line, next to all of our bridesmaids and groomsmen, I had been talking to Sue, Charlie and playing with Josh and Leah's three month old twins, Zach and Zoey when I felt Ally tense up next to me, holding my hand like a life supporter.

"Mom?" She asked shockingly.

"Mom?" Josh exclaimed, coming over to stand by Ally and I.

"Mom?" Marissa and Carson practically shouted, abandoning their spots as well and coming over to us.

"Danielle." Ally's dad said coming up as well, with Siena, Ally's stepmom, and Ally's new seven month old half sister Sydnie.

"Hi." She said simply. "Don't I get a hug?"

She looked like a mess to be completely honest. Her messy dark hair, the same shade as Ally's was in an odd bun around her head and she was wearing a plaid shirt with mismatched buttons and a pair of dark pants. Not really wedding attire.

"Look Mom," Josh spoke up. "We are not doing this here. Let's go inside."

"Joshy…baby!" She said drunkenly. "It's been so long!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on." She said lifting her arm and practically dragging her inside as she whined "but I wanna stay for the party."

Carson, Marissa, Leah (leaving the twins with Sue and Charlie), Ally and I followed dutifully. Mr. Chase just looked disgusted at his ex-wife and walked away with his new one as fast as possible.

"Hey, Ally." Brittany stopped her. "We got it here. Go deal. Call the boys if you need anything. You know that."

She nodded as we walked together inside. "Okay, Mom." Josh said. "Why are you here? How did you even know?"

"Know about my own daughter's wedding? It wasn't hard. You're famous here, Allyson. I called your old house and was directed to the police station. When I called them to ask about you, they asked if that was the girl getting married this weekend. I just assumed it was and came down….and it was true!" She squealed.

"Mom. There was a reason I didn't invite you. It's because you always do this! You are totally wasted!" Ally hissed. "Why now. Why come back now. I haven't seen you in almost six years. You never called. You never cared. About any of us! Marissa and Carson just graduated High School! Were you there? I was! Jacob was! Josh and Leah and the twins were there! Even Dad and Siena and Sydnie came! From London! Where were you! I know they invited you!"

"Allyson. I would have been there if I could…." She stuttered.

"You obviously made it here!" Marissa said.

"Marissa. I always loved you guys. But, it's been hard, without Mike around. After he disappeared…" Leah and I shot her a sharp look. How dare she bring up the cause of the abuse; emotional, physical and sexual that Ally and I had worked hard to get her through. Now brought up again on our wedding day? Seriously? Who was this woman?

"Don't." Ally said harshly. "Don't even bring up his name. You know what he did! You knew! The whole…" Her voice started breaking. I put my arm around her, to try and hold her together, but I knew she had to do this. She had to face her demons. "…the whole time! You knew what he was doing to me and the twins and to Josh! How dare you come here and talk about how hard it was for you!"

"Ally…don't take that tone with me. I'm still your mother." She said. Ally looked at her shocked.

"Since when!" Josh spoke up. "Since you married an abuser and consistently picked him over us? Why would she even think of you as mom anymore? I don't. You have constantly disappointed us too many times."

"You had plenty of time to see us if you wanted! You knew where we were! For six years!" Carson said, crossing his arms.

"Look. I need you to leave." Ally said quietly. "I need you to leave and never come back. I don't want you as part of my life anymore."

"But…you just got married. I want to be a grandma." Oh that did it. I saw Leah boil up and I knew it was finally going to come to a head. Bitch Leah was about to come out. I'd seen that look before.

"Do you know who I am?" She started. "I'm your daughter-in-law. Leah. I've been with your son for a year. Do you where we met? Your daughter's college graduation! Josh and I have twins together. You are already a grandparent. You just didn't know! Do you know who this is?" She asked pointing to me. "This is your new son in law, Jacob. Did you know that he and Ally have been together on and off for 6 years? Did you know Ally went to school at NYU and now works at a dance studio? Do you know what Josh and my kid's names are? Do you know where Carson wants to go to College? Do you know where Marissa wants to go? Do you know what they want to study? Did you know that Ally's old college roommate is married to my brother? No! You don't know any of that! Because you weren't there. You weren't there for Josh, disappointing him. You weren't there for Ally, disappointing her. You weren't there for Carson, disappointing him. You weren't there for Marissa, disappointing her. And Josh and I have no intention of letting you disappointing our twins. Zachary Shawn and Zoey Abigail, by the way."

I smirked a bit. It'd been awhile since I'd seen bitch Leah and I missed it. It was comforting to see it again, in a way. Ally spoke up again. "We need you to go. And, don't come back." She said, taking my hand and walking out of the building as Marissa, Carson, Leah and Josh followed us.

"You okay?" I asked Ally before we got back to our guests.

"I actually am. Yeah." She smiled as she grabbed my hand and we walked back to our friends giving them a nod that everything was okay. We didn't even notice Ally's mom, quietly slip out the back.

_Alice P.O.V_

_"So how do you intend to get her to join us, Aro?"_

_"Besides, why would you want her to? There is no promise she will be a talented immortal."_

_"Of course, she will be. She has so much power as a human. She would be a more than welcome addition to our guard."_

_"That's what we believed about Isabella and now, she has only made them stronger."_

_"Yes, but this time, we will not fail."_

_"And why is that?" _

_"We need to take away everything she holds dear. Then, she will join us with no reservations." _

My vision faded. "What's wrong, Alice?" Bella asked me on the plane ride back to where we were living now in Delaware from Ally and Jacob's wedding. "What did you see?"

"I really don't know." I said curiously. Who could they be talking about?

_Ally P.O.V._

I guess the Honeymoon had to end sometime. Jacob and I had spent a perfect few weeks back in New York City, where I got to show him everything I had fallen in love with during my four years here. The city nightlife, the natural beauty…everything! I just loved it so much and it was awesome to share with him. We were also able to spend some time with Josh, Leah, Zach and Zoey which was very nice.

We were at the hotel, packing our stuff when it happened; when our life as newlyweds changed, even though we'd only been newlyweds for one short week.

"Hey, Ally. Honey, I think your phone is ringing." Jacob said from the other side of the room. It was on vibrate, so I didn't hear it, but his Werewolf hearing was so good. I laughed and ran over to it, expecting to see Brittany Clearwater or Tasha Call come up on the screen. Private caller? Weird.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Allyson Chase?" The professional, male, British voice said on the other line.

"Um…Allyson Black, now. But, yes?" I said questionably. Who was this?

"This is Nolan Davies. I'm a Case Manager at the London Home for Children." I looked at Jacob oddly. I knew he could hear everything I could, even from over there.

"Okay." I said, giving the phone an odd look and mouthing _who is this? _Jake shook his head.

"I'm calling you on behalf of Sydnie Autumn Chase." I really was not getting this.

"My eight month old sister?" I asked. Stupid question, I guess. What other Sydnie Chase did I know?

"Yes. In your father's will, I have you as a possible guardian for Sydnie."

"My father's will? Did something happen?"

"Did the hospital not contact you?" Mr. Davies said uncomfortably.

"No. What is going on?" I exclaimed.

"Cayden and Siena Chase were killed in their home, about five days ago. Sydnie had been at a neighbor's house. I am so sorry. I assumed you already knew." I didn't really know what to say or think. I was just confused. My dad was dead? I should be upset. I knew that. If it was Billy, I would be crying buckets already. But all I could do was stand here confused.

"Uh, no. I didn't. Did you say I was Sydnie's new guardian?" I said quietly.

"Yes, well, that's what was in your fathers will. I was calling to ask if you would be coming to take guardianship of her." I stood in shock. "I…uh…" I looked to Jacob who nodded. I didn't even have to ask. Oh my God, he really was amazing. "Yeah. We'll be on the next flight."

I hung up and stared at Jacob open mouthed. He held his arms out and I dove into them. Yet, I didn't cry. I mean, I felt bad, he was my father but he was absent for most of my life that him not being around wasn't really a change. "Thank you, for knowing what I wanted to ask without even asking." I told my husband.

"We'll get through this. Your sister needs you." I nodded. It was weird to think of her as my sister. I'd only met her once, at our wedding. I really knew nothing about her.

"I need to call Josh." I said, grabbing the phone again and called my brother, knowing he'd have the same confused reaction I did.

We arrived in London the next day and went immediately to the Children's Home where Sydnie was. It looked like a regular house. Two stories, but a bit smaller than the house we'd lived in Forks. As we walked in, about ten kids went running off the other direction right passed us to the yard. How many kids lived here?

"Hello, I'm Nolan Davies." An older looking man in a suit came up to us at the doorway. "You are?"

"Allyson Chase-Black. This is my husband, Jacob. We spoke on the phone about my sister Sydnie." I said, as we both shook his hand.

"Ah, yes. This way. I'll take you to her right now. She's been pretty upset. I think she's looking for a familiar face." I gave Jacob a look. Not like I'd be able to be that familiar face for her. We didn't know each other at all.

As we walked toward the back of the house, more kids ran passed us. "How many kids live here?" Jacob asked curiously.

"About thirty." No. Way. Well, any thoughts of me and Jake not being ready to raise a kid and wanting to rethink taking Sydnie home with us melted away. She couldn't live in an orphanage with thirty other kids! We walked into a back room with about ten cribs and I saw Sydnie's little face peeking out of the bars of one of them. Seriously? She was still in her crib at 11:00am? What the Hell? When she saw Jake and I, she brightened up and held her chubby little fingers out to me. I picked her up eagerly.

"Hey, Syd. Remember us? I'm your sister, Ally." I told her. "And this is Jake. You'll love him."

Jake smiled. "Hi, Sydnie. I'm pretty much the coolest brother ever. Just don't tell Josh and Carson."

I laughed. Mr. Davies cleared his throat. "I just need you to sign these papers and then you'll be ready to go."

I nodded and handed Sydnie over to Jake who took her wholeheartedly. I signed in about fifteen places before they'd let us leave with her and the stuff they had of hers. When we left, we took a cab to Dad and Siena's house to get the rest of Sydnie's stuff. I knew it'd be weird being where my father and step-mom were killed, but we had no kid stuff. We were newlyweds for God's sake. The second we walked into the house, Jacob immediately tensed up.

"Babe? What's the matter?" I asked, on alert.

"I know that scent. Stay here!" Jacob said, taking off around the house.

"What scent. Jacob!" I yelled after him, but didn't follow him. I knew he was dead serious. He came back to where I was holding Sydnie near the front door a second later.

"A Vampire, one that had broken through our border before. That's who was here."

"Do you think a Vampire killed them?" I asked quietly, eyes wide.

Jake nodded tensely, taking a hold of my hand protectively as we grabbed a few of Syd's things and left as soon as possible. I didn't think my dad and Siena's death by a Vampire was an accident or coincidence and I knew by the way Jacob wouldn't let go of me or Sydnie until we were far away from this place that he felt the same way. Something told me things were going to get much worse before they got better. And I didn't know how to stop it.


End file.
